PREP COUNTDOWN 2020: For ACA's Clark, having fun beats the heat
Jalen Clark will be a four-year starter for Alabama Christian Academy this season giving the Eagles plenty of expectations. (Tim Gayle)
BY TIM GAYLE
For Jalen Clark, there are two ways to approach the daily grind: you can either let it get to you or you can be upbeat, energetic and fun-loving as you tackle life’s hardest challenges.
The senior’s demeanor never changes, even when football drills are repetitious and the temperature gauge is nearing the century mark.
“I want to have fun, that’s the whole point of being out there,” Clark said. “If you’re thinking it’s straight business, you’re not going to want to play. Having fun and bringing the hype, that’s the reason it’s fun.”
Clark, preparing for his fourth season as a starter at Alabama Christian Academy, is the undisputed leader of the Eagles and a primary reason why there are high expectations for ACA this fall. As Clark goes, the Eagles go. And they have fun doing it.
“Jalen is such a confident, naturally intelligent athlete on the field, it just bleeds over to everyone else and makes their job more understandable and doable,” ACA head coach Nate Sanford said. “Plus, he’s one of the funnest human beings to be around him. Jalen brings the party to practice and you need some of that because football’s a grind.”
Don’t think for a moment, however, that Clark isn’t serious about winning. The smile disappears just as soon as warmups are over and the whistle blows for the opening kickoff.
“He’s a stone-cold killer when it comes to snap to whistle,” Sanford said. “He is one of the most competitive players that I’ve had since I’ve been here and maybe in my 20 years of coaching.”
Clark didn’t always approach football that way. As a matter of fact, football wasn’t even his favorite sport as a child. He found his way to Montgomery when he was 2 years old – a result of being displaced by Hurricane Katrina – and has played three sports during his years at Alabama Christian.
“What’s interesting about Jalen is he didn’t grow up playing football,” Sanford said. “He’s a basketball and baseball kid. It’s funny that God has used this sport to bring out the very best athlete and leader in him. He’s still good at those other sports, but football has kind of become his thing.”
He broke into the starting ranks as a freshman, taking over at quarterback for three games after Reece Solar suffered a broken jaw in the middle of the season. He hasn’t been out of the lineup since, moving to receiver when Solar returned and in 2018 when Solar was a senior, then taking over at quarterback in 2019 and 2020.
He played safety during that time as well, but will move to cornerback this fall.
“The man is on a new level this summer,” Sanford said. “We’ve got him at cornerback. Now if we feel like things are in control, we’ll pull him out. We’ve got a good rotation of three or four corners who can play but Jalen would be our number one corner.
“If it’s a Hillcrest or a region championship, he’s going to play a lot. Or if it’s third and nine, third and 13, he’s going to be in there against their best receiver.”
As a sophomore receiver in 2018, he had 48 receptions for 575 yards and four touchdowns. He also completed 8 of 10 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns, either as a backup or on flanker reverses.
At quarterback last season, he accounted for 2,363 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns, rushing for 1,374 yards and throwing for 989.
Whether it’s needing a big play on offense or a big stop on defense, the Eagles will turn to their leader to deliver. It could turn out to be a huge year for Jalen Clark, but the senior simply shrugs when asked if he has any personal goals for the 2020 season.
“It’s nothing personal,” he said. “The only personal goal I have is to make it through the year and have fun and make it a memorable year. ‘Remember when we did all that and won the area championship?’ That would be a great memory.”