Remember that sack and tackle for loss Georgia's Tyler Clark had against Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2017 season? Remember those five stops he had against Alabama in the National Championship Game the next week? Remember anything Clark did last season?
If you answered yes to the first two questions and no to the last, you’re not alone. And Clark knows it.
Clark wouldn’t disagree with you if you said that his junior year was somewhat of a lost season. Now a senior, the Bulldogs’ most experienced defensive lineman plans to follow it with a year to remember.
“This year, I’m going in with a different mindset,” said the 300-pound defensive tackle from Americus. “Hopefully, I can come out bigger and better.”
In his defense, Clark wasn’t a sack of potatoes filling space on Georgia’s line last season. He remained an integral part of the Bulldogs’ defensive plans and could make an argument for being his team’s best down lineman for the second straight season. He played in all 14 games, starting 10 and finishing with 31 tackles and a sack.
But Clark didn’t become the dominant player he was projected to be when he was named preseason All-SEC and declared a “Face of the Program” for 2018 by Saturday Down South. That he didn’t is on him, Clark said.
“I was thinking I was good,” Clark said. “I started feeling myself too much and it got in my head.”
That impacted Clark in a very real way when it came time to field NFL evaluations. He didn’t get the kind of draft grades he was expecting. It became clear he had more work to do if he was going to become a pro.
So, it’s a with a prove-something mentality that Clark enters his senior season.
“My attitude toward things, my mindset is better,” Clark said this past week.
Injuries also were a factor for Clark last year. Without getting into details, he acknowledged he stayed “beat up” for much of the season. He didn’t miss any games, he was just hurting before, during and after most of them.
“Playing in the SEC is pretty tough, especially playing every week,” Clark said. “When you come out of games, you’re going to have bumps and bruises. You’ve just got to rehab and stuff.”
As the Bulldogs prepare for Saturday’s opener at Vanderbilt, Clark said he’s feeling the best he has since 2017.
“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like I’m healthier, I’m stronger, I’m faster.”
Based on a couple of postseason games two years ago, that should bode well for Georgia this season.
