NSD 2021: Emotional day for ACA's Clark
Alabama Christian quarterback Jalen Clark signs with Louisiana LaFayette on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Jalen Clark was always dependable on the football field, earning Capital City Conference player of the year recognition from rival coaches who faced his competitive spirit and determination on the gridiron on Friday night.
But when he stepped to the podium at Alabama Christian Academy on Wednesday to pay recognition to all the people who had helped him earn a college scholarship to play football for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, Clark had trouble in his delivery, choking up with emotion on several occasions.
“I dreamed of this moment all my life,” he concluded, “and coaches at the University of Louisiana have stuck with me since the beginning of my recruitment and given me my chance to make my dream come true.”
On Wednesday, Clark signed with the Sun Belt co-champions as a safety after spending most of the last four years on offense, either as a receiver or at quarterback for the Eagles.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss (playing offense) for sure, but it’s for the better so I’m all right with it,” Clark said, saying he sorted through a half-dozen college offers and settled on Louisiana because “I knew they could develop me into more than just a quarterback because they saw more in me than just a quarterback. I believe in what they can do for me.”
ACA coach Nate Sanford isn’t so sure the Ragin’ Cajun coaching staff might not give Clark a shot at offense in the future.
“All of the coaches were over there giving an over-under on how long it would take for them to go ‘this guy’s got some skills with the ball, we might want to take a look at him, if not at quarterback at least at receiver,’” Sanford said. “But I’ve said all along, as good as he is as an athlete and a football player, he’s an even better person.
“He’s just so much fun. He brings the sunshine wherever he goes. That was the most non-positive emotion we’ve ever seen out of him.
In his speech on Wednesday, Clark noted his departure from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when he was 2, but said later “it was just a coincidence, just a blessing” that he chose a college two hours down the interstate from his childhood home.
“It was the brotherhood, the coaches and just the energy of the school,” Clark said. “They showed me that there is more to college than just sports. They’re going to teach me to be a better man, make better life choices and everything.
Sanford believes Clark made a wise choice in Billy Napier’s Ragin’ Cajuns.
“They know what they’re doing over there in Lafayette,” Sanford said. “It’s a real positive that Coach Napier stayed after the season they had. They’re going to find him a home, he’s going to find himself a home and they’re going to be a better team because of it.”Also on Wednesday, ACA defensive lineman Khalil Jackson signed with Golden West College to play football for the junior college Rustlers.
Also, ACA defensive lineman Khalil Jackson decided on Tuesday to accept an offer from Golden West College to play football for the junior college Rustlers.
“Khalil has probably come the farthest of any player that I’ve ever coached who’s ended up playing football in college,” Sanford said. “When he came here four years ago, he couldn’t bench 100 pounds, he went to the wrong huddle in his first JV game and by the time he was a junior he was an all-metro defensive lineman.”