QB Pierce Clarkson Progressing at an 'Upward Trajectory' for Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The quarterback position is in a good spot for the Louisville football program. Starter Jack Plummer gives the Cardinals both experience and system familiarity, Brock Domann is a quality backup, and younger guys like Brady Allen and 2024 commit Deuce Adams give Louisville some long term options as well.
Of course, one quarterback on the roster that has had Louisville fans excited since his commitment in January of 2022 is Pierce Clarkson. Ever since he arrived on campus earlier this calendar year, the true freshman has been a model football player for the coaches.
"He's doing exactly what you want him to do," offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm said. "Every day, he's just getting better and better, stacking the days, and getting better each and every time he's out there. Really for him, it's just more reps, more experience. A lot of times, there's plays out there he's running for the first time. It's just getting the more experience, but he's progressed at an upward trajectory very well."
It's easy to understand why fans were so excited when he first gave his verbal pledge to the Cardinals over a year and a half ago. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound signal caller was ranked as high as the No. 193 prospect in the Class of 2023 according to Rivals, was a finalist in the prestigious quarterback competition Elite 11, and led Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco to a CIF Southern Section D-I state championship.
During his title-winning run as a senior in high school, Clarkson completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 29 touchdowns to only six interceptions, while also rushing for 454 yards and five touchdowns for an 8.41 yards per carry average. He finished his high school career with 3,995 yards of offense and 51 total touchdowns.
However, despite being an early enrollee that would allow him to take part in spring ball, Clarkson never saw the field. He suffered a broken toe before the start of spring practice, and spent the entire spring relegated to the sideline.
While it was a hard pill to swallow, Clarkson used this as an opportunity to dedicate more time to activities away from the practice field, so that he could be ready to hit the ground running in fall camp.
"I just had to stay locked in mentally, since I physically couldn't be out there with the team every day working with them," he said. "It was more of a mental battle. I had to sit in my playbook at home. I had to watch practice extra hard to see what they were doing, watch film, the cutups, just to get that extra knowledge that I was missing out on, and the actual reps I was missing out on every day that they were getting."
Fast forward to fall camp, Clarkson was able to finally take to the practice fields for the first time. Of course, over the first couple open practices, he did have the typical "freshman moments" that are expected from any newcomer taking some of their first reps.
But after a while, the California native started to settle in, and what made him such a highly-regarded prospect coming out of high school was on full display. During some of the later open practices, Clarkson was demonstrating a poise and decisiveness that is not normally seen out of true freshman, while his accuracy and ability to deliver the ball on the run was noteworthy and consistent.
"I feel like camp has been going good for me," he said towards the end of fall camp. "Taking it day-by-day, and every day just keep improving. For myself, these are my first real reps at the college level. Just going through practices every day since I did miss the spring.
"But I've been feeling good and better out there every day I've been out there. Just knowing the knowledge I need to have, knowing the playbook, knowing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, knowing where the ball is supposed to be. I've been feeling a lot more comfortable out there since the time I first stepped on the field."
While Clarkson has progressed at a rate that has even impressed that coaching staff, he knows deep down how much work he still has left to do to get to where he wants to be. He's extremely hard on himself, and even as someone who is the son of a quarterback "guru," he is his biggest critic.
"I kind of have high expectations for myself every time I step on the field every day when I wake up," Clarkson said. "For sure there's little things that, of course, I nitpick at myself. Even if they won't say something, or it's not popping up as a mistake on film, I know a mental mistake or mistake when I see it, or I know something that I could be better. I'm definitely a little nitpicky at myself trying to perfect my craft."
(Photo of Pierce Clarkson via University of Louisville Athletics)
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