Notre Dame Preview: QB Brendon Clark Has Difference Maker Talent
The transfer of Phil Jurkovec and arrival of four-star freshman Drew Pyne means the quarterback room will look a bit different in 2020, but one familiar face is sophomore Brendon Clark.
The departure of Jurkovec gives Clark an easier path to claiming the backup role behind starter Ian Book, which means he one step closer to showing off his skills inside Notre Dame Stadium.
Let’s continue our 2020 season preview with a look at Clark, a talented but inexperienced quarterback.
ARM TALENT + ATHLETICISM IS OUTSTANDING
When talking to sources throughout the 2019 season, Clark’s name often came up in conversation, and it was rarely because I asked about him. Clark has the kind of arm talent and attitude that gets noticed.
The 6-2, 212-pound rising sophomore has impressive arm talent. His arm is strong and despite having a long release (see below), he has a fast arm and gets the ball out quickly. Even at a young age there isn’t a throw he can’t make, and the ball explodes out of his hand.
Clark is also a quality athlete, possessing the foot quickness and speed to maneuver with ease in the pocket, but also the size and athletic skills to be an effective runner, both on scrambles and designed runs.
The Midlothian, Va. native rushed for 2,067 yards and 34 touchdowns during his prep career, which shows his ability to do damage as a runner. During his senior season, while leading Manchester to a state title, Clark rushed for over 100 yards in a game twice in the playoffs, including 118 yards and three touchdowns in the title game.
This is important when looking at his role in 2020, as having a quarterback with a big arm and running ability coming off the bench is an ideal situation. Those traits allow a young quarterback to make plays even with a smaller playbook, and he provides a skillset that can threaten a defense that hasn’t prepared for him all week.
WINNER - PLAYMAKER
Clark is a winner and a playmaker on the football field, and you combine that with outstanding arm talent and it makes sense why Notre Dame and Clemson pushed so hard to land him. He was 39-5 as a starting quarterback at Manchester, and he led the Lancers to a 15-0 record and a state title as a senior. Clark also led Manchester to an 11-2 record and a trip to the playoffs as both a junior and sophomore.
His senior year numbers were some of the best I’ve seen from a Notre Dame quarterback recruit. His passing yards (2,327) weren’t overly impressive, but that was due to Clark rarely playing in the second half as the team blew out most of its opponents.
Clark threw 35 touchdown passes as a senior but was picked off just one time, and he threw just four interceptions as a junior. He rushed for 774 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior, which meant Clark totaled 52 touchdowns as a senior while turning the ball over just once in 15 games.
He can do serious damage with both his arms and legs, traits that are ideal for the Notre Dame offense.
MECHANICS - ACCURACY NEED WORK
Clark is still very much a work in progress both mentally (being young, still learning the playbook) and mechanically. A former baseball player, Clark has a bit of a long release and his base can get a bit wide at times. These two mechanical realities can result in Clark having trouble repeating his release point, which causes inaccuracy.
Clark completed 59.4% of his passes as a senior and was at 56.5% for his career, and his film shows why. On film he would make absolutely gorgeous throws. I am talking about throws you expect to see from a Top 100 recruit. Then on another snap he would miss badly on a simple route like a hitch.
That inconsistency is all mechanical, so it will be imperative that position coach Tommy Rees work hard to get Clark to clean up those mechanics, with being more consistent with his footwork being the most important of those traits.
If Clark can clean up his footwork we should see make a jump in accuracy. A jump in accuracy could cause him production and play to explode, and it would give him a chance to become a difference maker in an Irish uniform whenever his number is called.
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