M.J. Clark
	Height	6-2
	Weight	185
	40-yard Dash	4.5

247sports: **
Rivals: **
Scout: **
247sports: No. 150 S in country
247sports: No. 251 player in Texas

Last Year Statistics

54 tackles (through seven games before suffering high ankle sprain)

Strengths as a Player

The thing that jumps out about M.J. Clark is his coverage skills. He has very good speed and opens his hips well, but he also is an intelligent player who reads receivers — and offenses — and is able to adjust his coverage accordingly, making it difficult for a receiver to get behind him. His athletic ability and understanding of his team’s defense has allowed him to play all over the secondary, at safety and cornerback. He played cornerback during seven-on-seven workouts over the summer and for much of his senior season, but is expected to return to safety at SMU.

Interviews

Cedar Hill head coach Joey McGuire on M.J. Clark:

Michael and Eric (Sutton) are teammates in football, and they both run track. They’re really close. I really think Michael was wanting to stay close to home, even when he was committed to Kansas, and switching to SMU is better all the way around. It’s better for him, and it’s better for his mom, who will be able to see him. Having one of his (high school) teammates going with him — they’re close, they eat lunch together every day, if you see one of them in the hallway you’ll see the other — that’s so much better for both of them. They’re not going to be far away from home, but having a familiar face, someone there you know and trust … that makes it more comfortable.

Michael is a guy that has the frame to grow (from free safety) into a strong safety, or even into an outside linebacker. He has really broad shoulders and long arms, and I could see him easily being 220 or 230 pounds at some point. It will be really interesting to see what he becomes after he spends some time in their strength program. He’s long, and he really hasn’t even grown into his feet yet. Get him in to see SMU’s nutritionist and get him in that strength program, and it will be really interesting to see what he becomes.

Michael was the physical guy in our secondary. He has other tools — he runs well, he has good size, he covers well — but he’s the guy who can really hit, can add that physical element to our secondary. He’s versatile enough to play either safety spot, but in either spot, he’ll really hit you.

We’re just as much a two-high-safety team, and this year both of my safeties are signing — one is going to UTEP, and of course Michael is headed to SMU. When we roll our coverage, I felt really good about Moke rolling down; against Skyline, he rolled into the box, almost like an extra linebacker, and made a lot of plays.

M.J. Clark on why he chose SMU:

My whole family is from Dallas, and I just can’t picture leaving them, and to have a chance to play at a prestigious school and graduate from a school like SMU is something I couldn’t pass up.

Coach (Kenny) Perry (who recruited Clark for Kansas) is friends with Coach McGuire, and when I told him I was going to SMU, he tried to change my mind, but once he heard me talk about SMU, he knew my mind was set.

(Cedar Hill teammate Eric Sutton) played a big role in my decision. We’re real close — we’re basically together every day. He and Demerick (Gary) … we talked every day, even when I was still committed to Kansas. We watched the E:60 about the University of Miami, how those guys built that program, and we decided we want to help build SMU the same way.

I have a great relationship with Coach Mathis, from when I was at DeSoto, so when he started recruiting me at Cedar Hill, it wasn’t like he was the enemy.

I looked at SMU’s defense, and talked to Coach (Van) Malone, and it’s pretty much the same as what we have been playing — I just won’t be rolling down to corner too much. But a lot of what SMU did is the same as what we did. I’ve got to learn the language they use, but that should be the hardest part.

I talked to Coach Malone and Coach Mathis about next year. They said anybody has a chance to play if you put in the work. I want to put on some weight, some good weight, so I’m getting in the weight room. Then, when I get there, I’ve got to study, because even if you’re big and fast, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re no help to the team.

It wasn’t hard (to give up track to focus on football). Track was just something I did to gain speed for football.

I think I’ll grow a little more. All of my uncles are over 6-5, so hopefully I’ll get a little taller. But either way, I should be able to put on some weight pretty easily.