Post Game – Shrine Game Spotlight on Penn State’s Daryll Clark

East Team quarterback Daryll Clark, Penn State

Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark was a late addition to the East Team roster for the East-West Shrine Game, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact in the game.

Though fellow East Team and Big Ten quarterback Mike Kafka led the team to the game winning touchdown and was Offensive MVP of the game, Clark did what he could to help his team in his two first half drives, both of which led to Joshua Shene field goals en route to the 13-10 win over the West.

By his own admission Clark was “a little bit behind and … playing catch up” during the early part of the preparation week, but he caught on quickly as the team’s #2 quarterback. In his two series’ played in the game, Clark was 7-of-10 for 75 yards.

Clark shared his thoughts on his progress throughout the week, his days and teammates and Penn State and his hope to continue on as a quarterback at the next level after the final Shrine Game whistle blew:

How has your experience gone this week in the practices?

For me it was a bit rough at the very beginning. I was a late add-on and I was thrown in, so I was kind of a little bit behind and kind of played a little bit of catch up, so the first couple days were a bit rough for me. Trying to get the timing down and the QB / center exchange – it was a bit rough. But, I picked it up toward the end of the week when it definitely mattered and I didn’t know how many reps I was going to get for this football game, but I just told myself ‘whenever you get in, just make sure you make the best out of it with every rep you take, every throw you make’.

Do you think you accomplished everything this week that you could have?

I learned a ton. And Coach Pep Hamilton, our quarterback coach, really drills on the mechanics and that was something coming out of college that I knew that I would have to fine tune to get ready for the next level and he definitely worked on that with me. I learned a lot from him. I didn’t get a ton of reps in the football game but I definitely was proud of the way it wound up being with scoring drives. Ideally you want a touchdown but a field goal is just as good.

Talk about your fellow Penn Staters at the Shrine Game, Andrew Quarless and Jeremy Boone.

Jeremy Boone – big time punter for the Big Ten, good teammate and always enters the locker room with a smile and always comes to work every single day.

I’m real proud of Andrew Quarless – the way he played and prepared for every game this year. He took a 180 in his life and redirected his focus on what was important and what wasn’t important and I was real proud of that. He had a great year. I wish we could have hooked up a little more for the endzone, but there were times when we needed him to catch for the first down and it was almost automatic for him. And for him to make the big catch for this game really goes to show how hard he’s worked, how far he’s come. He didn’t get any catches at the beginning of the game, but I just kept telling him, ‘Just plug away, we’ll find you’ and I love the guys.

One thing that I definitely miss about Penn State and I’ve only been gone for a couple weeks now – it’s a real family. We have a real football fraternity and you’ll develop some relationships and friendships with all of your teammates on whatever team you wind up playing on, but it will never be like how it was at Penn State.

How about the Big Ten conference this week?

It was definitely important for us to come in and every player we had represent the Big Ten just played their part and worked hard at their craft and tried to perfected it and prove to a few people that we are able to play with the big boys. I feel like we definitely did that. We came out and worked every single day. I struggled at the beginning of the week, being thrown in and whatnot but I really felt like I came on when it mattered and Quarless has been really consistent throughout the week and so has Jeremy with kicking the football.

What was it like playing for Joe Paterno?

It was unreal. Jay Paterno, my quarterback coach, and the rest of the coaching staff made such an impact on my life. Back in 2005 when I first stepped on campus, Coach Jay was definitely a guy that backed me 100%, that fought to get me in at certain times and when things didn’t happen right for me he said remain patient and when your time comes, take advantage of your responsibilities and your opportunities.

With Joe, obviously there was a quarterback controversy with me and Pat Devlin and he felt that is was very tight run, but he felt like I edged it out. When times were bad and I wasn’t playing as  well he didn’t yank me right away, so that goes to show you the faith that he had in me. What else’s been great is he definitely prepares you for life as well as football and he always harps on the little things. We have a quote in the quarterback room – “Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves”. As you get older, you really start to understand what he means by it. It’s been great. I enjoyed every year – all five years of it.

You seem to be considered one of those athletic quarterbacks. Do you think you could transition to another position?

If I have to – yes, but I would rather play quarterback. That’s my main position and that’s what I would want to play on the next level. Now, if things don’t work that way and they need me to play another position then that’s what I have to do.

What’s your best attribute as a quarterback?

The gift to be able to make all the throws and when needed to run the football. There are times when the defense does it right and no one’s open so you have to take off with your legs, make a couple guys miss and continue to keep drives alive. I feel like I definitely bring that to the table. As far as quarterbacking, I’ve never been a guy to force the football. I understand the route combinations and the coverages that we face so I’m well coachable. I’m definitely still a work in progress, so we’ll see what happens in the next months.