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Senior linebacker Aaron Clark returns to the field this spring after missing almost the entire 2008 campaign due to a knee injury he suffered against USC. Clark and the rest of the linebacking corps have some big shoes to fill following the graduation of Clint Sintim, Jon Copper and Antonio Appleby.
Question: What was last season like for you having to watch from the sidelines? How did you try and turn that into a positive experience?
Clark: It’s hard. For anybody who is playing football for a number of years, it’s hard to take a season off and see your buddies that you worked with all offseason when you feel like you should be out there with them with their struggles and accomplishments that they are going through. So you just try and turn into a positive motivator on the sideline and just try and give off good energy as much as you can because you can’t do anything physically. It’s more of a mental being rather than a physical being on the field.
Question: Denzell (Burrell) talked about last year how hard it was for him because you guys competed so hard at the same position and then all of the sudden you were not there to compete with. It was almost like he was guilty for getting the experience that way. But he also said you were helping him by using your eyes on the sideline.
Clark: I really tried to focus in on Denzell when he was on the field; that’s the position that both of us had really tried to learn in and out and to be there with each other and compete with each other like he said. As far as my role, I was trying to watch each play or give him tips, letting him know what the offense is doing and try to help him with his reads on the field or whatever it may be. I think we built a better relationship; our on the field relationship is a lot stronger and a lot more communicative than it would have been had we been in a different situation last year.
Question: You had a torn ACL and a partially torn MCL. What was your rehab like? When did you feel like, “OK, I’m back?”
Clark: Even now I am still dealing with a little bit of the pains here and there. I am pretty close to being back now. I’d say I’m right on the edge of being fully recovered. The only thing now is getting the rest of the muscles back to where they were around the knee so the knee doesn’t get so tired. But, I feel great and the practices are going great. I think the rehab process was really successful.
Question: What is it like having Chad Wilt on the staff as a full-time assistant coach?
Clark: I love it. Coach Wilt was here my first year. Being one of the older guys, I was one of the guys who got to play with him first year. It’s cool having him around. There is a lot of new energy on the staff. All of the new coaches are great in my book. They all bring a different, unique twist. The one, obviously, that I interact with most is Coach (Bob) Trott and I really, really like him. He’s a great coach; he’s laid back but he gets his point across. It’s really nice having him around.
Question: Coach Trott has crossed paths with Coach Groh a lot during his career; did you notice some of that immediately?
Clark: I noticed it just from the fact that when he came in, Coach Groh gave him the reigns with the linebackers and the linebackers are Coach Groh’s babieshe loves to coach the linebackers. The fact that he had enough trust and respect in Coach Trott to give him the operation of that ship was pretty big for me. From the minute he started coaching, you could see that they had the same mindset that the linebackers are the heart of the defense, being the ones to run it and make the plays and make stuff happen for the defense. It was really interesting to see how similar they are in their coaching styles.
Question: Have you noticed any change since Coach Groh announced he would be the defensive coordinator?
Clark: He’s always been pretty active in coaching the defensive side of the ball. He’s a defensive coach and he loves being in there. He loves presenting the game plans or telling us the idea of what he wants his defense to embody. It hasn’t really changed too much but it’s easier to go to somebody now since he is the defensive coordinator.
Question: Coach Groh has a lot of experience with football on many levels, what’s an exampleduring a gamewhen he has really amazed you with his knowledge?
Clark: It happens all the time. We’ve had some pretty good defensive teams here in the past couple of years. We’ll be in the middle of a game and your game plan doesn’t always happen the way you plan. And heI swear, it’s every gamehe’s like, “all right, this is what we’re doing, we’re expecting this, so this is the check that’s going to stop it.” And it works, every time for a number of different defenses. I couldn’t pinpoint one particular instance, but he does it all the time.
Question: Do you feel very fortunate being able to play for a coach that has that kind of expertise?
Clark: Of course. It’s always good to have confidence in your coach that he is going to be able to give you something that’s going to make you successful. It’s great playing under him.
Question: How does a team get confidence when it comes off of a season where it wasn’t able to go to a post season bowl game? Where do you find that motivation?
Clark: I think the number one confidence-gainer would have to come from experience. A lot of young guys played last year, we went through a lot of ups and downs, learned how to compete in really tough situations. I think that’s the number one thing, just having that experience. Things are going to go wrong, you just have to learn how to deal with it, step up, and make plays and move on. The fact that all those young guys are coming back and we didn’t lose that many guys, but we lost some big players. I feel like we are in prime position to step up and be a great defense as well.
Question: There’s a lot of talk about the offense with Coach Gregg Brandon being here, it being a different look? What’s your perspective on that?
Clark: It’s completely different. It’s something that we’re not used to seeing that many turns in one practice. We’ve played against some “spread” teams in the past couple of years but when you’re seeing it everyday in practice, you really see the ins and outs of it. It’s exciting to watch it unfold and watch the players learn it and find out how to tweak it to make their game better. It’s going to be exciting.
Question: Does it make your job as a defensive player harder when the offense goes no huddle?
Clark: It makes you buckle down mentally. Everybody is pretty much prepared to run and to understand that their lungs and their muscles are going to burn, but you can push through that, but it’s the mental focus. You may see something one play that you have not prepared for at all. You have to react to it, shake it off, and be ready for the next play. With a quick huddle like they have, you have no time to dwell on what happened. I think that’s a benefit for the defense because it really helps you move on and keep playing the next play and not worry about past things that could have gone wrong.
Question: What’s the personal goal that you have during spring drills and offseason conditioning going into next year?
Clark: With me, it’s a little bit of a different story. I am just trying to get back to the playing shape and the mindset that I was in before I was injured and the comfort in the fact that my leg is going to be there underneath me when I go to step on it. As far as the game goes, I just want to be more of a vocal and physical leader on the field. Me and Denzell are some of the senior guys on the defense along with Chris Cook and Nate Collins. We’re all trying to step up and be leaders and I think that’s the main thing that this defense is looking for.
Question: How does the linebacker group react after losing so many players with hundreds of games of experience? Does it speed up the maturation process for some of the younger players?
Clark: It forces the guys who are in those positions right now to step their game up because they know that there’s a lot of people that can compete for playing time. It makes you buckle down on your stuff a lot more. I think it’s great. We have so many guys that have the opportunity to play. It’s nice to know that if somebody were to go down, God forbid, or if you just need a substitution, there’s somebody who can step up and be consistent enough. I’m really excited about this defensive unit.
Question: Who’s the player that will emerge from spring practice and really surprise people?
Clark: I’m going to say Javaris Brown. He’s fast, a hard worker, and runs good routes. He’s the number-one player I’m looking at. A lot of people don’t know him but I think he’s going to make a name for himself really soon.