Hudson Clark's versatility valuable for Arkansas secondary
Arkansas defensive back Hudson Clark has done everything asked of him in order to see the field during his career as a Razorback and he's once again having to make a change as a redshirt senior.
A former walk-on out of Highland Park High School in Dallas, Clark earned a scholarship in Oct. of 2020 following a three-interception performance against Ole Miss. Now, he serves as a critical leader and playmaker for defensive coordinator Travis Williams' group.
Clark made the shift from cornerback to safety midway through last season and it paid off well for him as he earned First-Team All-SEC honors from USA Today. With so many new talented faces in the secondary, Clark has once again been asked to make a move from safety to the HOG position.
Basically the nickel spot, the HOG is a versatile position in which Clark recorded the first of Arkansas' four interceptions in the season opener against Western Carolina last Saturday.
"Even though you’re playing secondary, they’re all different (positions)," head coach Sam Pittman said Wednesday. "They’re different techniques. Obviously different assignments. To be able to do that says a lot about him. To be able to do that willingly says more about him.
"A quick story: We had told him that he was going to go in on the third series and the defense went two three-and-outs and Hud goes to Coach Woodson and says, ‘Hey, you know they’ve only been out there six plays, I don’t know if they’ve really had enough plays to get in the groove of the game.’ That’s just kind of who he is and he’s the ultimate team guy. He’s been as valuable as anybody we’ve had to the team."
The interception — Clark's fifth as a Razorback — was pretty impressive for someone playing his first game at a new spot. While he might not be making a full transition to the HOG position, it's clear that Clark will likely play a considerable amount there moving forward.
On the play prior to the pick, he chipped the running back trying to get to the quarterback, but he recognized the screen pass and got out to clean a missed tackle by Jordan Crook behind the line of scrimmage. On the next play, he read the quarterback's eyes and quickly dropped back about 12 yards to position himself for the first interception of the day.
Clark was projected as a starting safety entering fall camp, but junior Jayden Johnson really came along and took over as a first team safety late in camp. While Johnson's success is a good thing, it didn't lead to Clark feeling bad for himself.
"I love the kid," Pittman said. "Love a lot of them, but he’s a very unselfish guy. He could’ve went in the tank when we told him that ‘You know, hey we’re not going to send you out there. You are a starter in our mind, but we’re not going to send you out there first.’ A lot of kids go in the tank on you. This guy’s going, ‘Hey, I don’t think they’ve had enough reps to get acclimated to a game quite yet.’"
As a former walk-on, Clark knows what it is like to have to work his way up from the bottom. While he isn't having to start from the scout team, he is having to prove each week that he deserves significant snaps.
"Trying to be a spark off the bench, whatever coach needs me to be," Clark said Tuesday. "Yeah, I just think if everybody is fresh and they want everybody to play full speed, if we all got to play 40 snaps to be full speed that would be the best thing going forward."
Arkansas' next challenge will be against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.