Louisville CB Kei'Trel Clark Stands Out During Shrine Bowl Week
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - If NFL scouts out in Las Vegas for the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl didn't already have Kei'Trel Clark on their radar, they certainly do now.
The junior cornerback for Louisville, who opted to declare for the NFL Draft instead of returning to the Cardinals, spent a week out in the Nevada desert practicing with and against some of the top NFL Draft prospects ahead of the all-star exhibition itself on Thursday at Allegiant Stadium. Saying that Clark took advantage of this opportunity to improve his draft stock would be an understatement.
During the four days of practice, which were in full view of scouts from all across the NFL, Clark was consistently one of the most impressive prospects that participated, with All Steelers' writer Derrick Bell going so far as to call him "arguably the best overall player in Las Vegas."
"The Louisville standout blew up a couple of screens in team scrimmages, showed off his sticky man coverage skills in one on ones, and shined as a playmaker, consistently finding himself making plays in the passing lanes," Bell wrote, who also said he was an "insanely competitive, twitched-up athlete who excels in short spaces, changing directions with ease."
Even though Clark was one of the smaller cornerback prospects taking part in the Shrine Bowl, measuring at 5'10" 2/8 and 179 pounds with a 73" wingspan, he didn't let that impact his performances in practice. Lining up in both the slot and on the boundary, he was consistently shutting down any receiver that lined up against him.
"Despite lacking ideal size, the two-time All-ACC selection wins in press coverage with patient footwork, cutting off receivers with his feet before getting into their airspace and imposing them with physical hand usage," Steelers Depot's Owen Straley wrote. "He does a great job of varying his approach at the line of scrimmage, capable of using a soft-shoe press, jump jam, and off-hand jam, keeping receivers guessing from snap to snap."
As for the Shrine Bowl itself, the West took down the East 12-3 in a game that combined for five field goals. Defensive stats were not available at the time of this article's publication.
Starting all 12 regular season games before opting out of the Fenway Bowl, Clark was one of Louisville's best defensive backs in 2022. He finished the season with the fifth-most tackles at 51 (35 solo), as well as 4.0 tackles for loss, a sack, four pass break ups and an interception. He was tabbed as a Third-Team All-ACC selection for his efforts.
Joining the program in 2020 after spending his freshman year at Liberty, the Richmond, Va, native finished his Cardinals career with 127 tackles (92 solo), 9.5 for loss, one sack, 28 pass deflections and five interceptions. He was an All-ACC performer in all three of his years at Louisville, earning Second-Team honors in both 2020 and 2021.
(Photo of Kei'Trel Clark: Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports)
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