Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 19, 2024 17 Crawford played for the Irish from 2016-20, being named a captain in his final season. After a short stint with the Las Vegas Raiders, he needed to figure out what he wanted to do after football. He always loved podcasting, though, and figured the Notre Dame network could help him get started. In April 2022, Crawford hosted his first Varsity House episode with Irish head coach Marcus Freeman as his guest. Later guests would include Clark Lea, Brian Kelly, Jeremiah Owusu- Koramoah, Brady Quinn, Manti Te'o and even Father John Jenkins. But Crawford can't help but look back, he explained, on what could have been if he began podcasting during his playing career. He considered starting a show during the 2020 season with his roommate, quarterback Ian Book, but he didn't know how to pro- duce it. By the time Crawford got his start in media, he wasn't as popu- lar and relevant (his words) as he was as a Notre Dame captain. That concept, he said, is what spurred Varsity House as a production company. "My idea was, if we can work with student-athletes while they're still in college, while they're still active and playing, then we will be able to maxi- mize their brand and allow them to maximize their creative potential," Crawford said. When Clark heard this idea, he was all in. And while he gets valuable on-air reps, Crawford does the behind-the- scenes work that allows him to do the show during football season. On Thursdays — typically the light- est days of practice — Crawford will connect with Clark and send him a list of questions. Clark will respond with which ones he likes and which ones he'd prefer to delete. Crawford said Clark's prep work during the week probably takes around two hours. "He just gives me a time to show up and who the guest is," Clark said. "Shaun's awesome. He really just wants to give us a platform as a student-athlete." "I would say I'm spoiled, in a way, to work with Jordan," Crawford said. "His work ethic, when he gets to set and really engages and really dives into it, that's one of the unique things about him." Behind a mic, Clark is a natural. He doesn't often stutter, and if he does, he knows Crawford will fix it on the back end. Clark doesn't approach it as an in- terview the way most think; he's not just writing down questions, reading them off and moving on to the next one. Instead, he approaches it as a conversa- tion, and that makes both him and his guest more comfortable. "Whenever you look at it as a grand scheme thing — podcast, lights, all this stuff — it becomes kind of daunting," Clark said. "But I think that when you just look at it as you're getting to know somebody and talking about yourself, it makes it a lot easier." Much of that comes from the way Clark was raised. Ryan Clark explained that he and his wife, Yonka, never taught their kids to shy away from conversations. "I think you just do that through the way you talk to them," Ryan Clark said. "Our house was not a baby talk house. When our kids were younger, there wasn't a lot of 'goo goo ga ga' in our house." Ryan Clark said his son is more "pol- ished" as a speaker than he was in col- lege, but he tries to avoid those com- parisons. He largely stays out of Jordan Clark's podcasting life, watching and posting the videos on social media to support him but not micromanaging and giving him pointers. "I just want to be a dad," Ryan Clark said. "That level of independence is im- portant." "That's what I love about my dad and I's relationship so much," Jordan Clark said. "He's not overbearing. He doesn't try to do too much. But when I do have questions and I do need advice, he's al- ways there." 'HE'S JUST BEEN HIM' Ryan Clark takes the same approach with Jordan Clark's football life. He's only missed four games that he can remember: two due to the CO- VID-19 pandemic and two others due to his youngest daughter's homecom- ing dates. But he doesn't ask for spe- cial privileges as media to stand on the sideline. He sits in the stands, with the rest of the parents and Notre Dame fans. Still, as an ex-defensive back himself, Ryan Clark knows that Jordan Clark is in the midst of a standout season with the Irish. Coming off a quad injury that hin- dered his performance, Clark has dealt with no such hardships in 2024. He's been targeted 15 times, allowing only 8 receptions for 47 yards (3.1 yards per attempt). He was also credited with 7 defensive stops, or tackles that result in a failure for the offense. "I think he's just been him, and not like in the 'I'm him' way, that's just who Jordan is," Ryan Clark said. "I think as long as he's healthy, I think he'll continue to dominate." Playing nickel is something Ryan Clark — a hard-hitting safety in his playing days — knew his son would do from an early age. That was an idea Jordan Clark, now standing 5-foot-10, 182 pounds, hated at first. But as football evolved over the years, nickel grew from what you did if you couldn't cut it as a cor- nerback or safety to a critical position on modern defenses. "He thought I was being a bad dad, but I saw where the position was going," Ryan Clark said. "I knew what his skill set was. He was tough, he was smart, he was great in and out of breaks. "You got teams playing 80 percent sub packages in the NFL, obviously the same thing in college. Now, it's just an- other starter." Notre Dame has helped Clark thrive on the field, surrounding him with tal- ent like Morrison and Watts. It's also allowed him to thrive off the field, with "The Irish Scoop." "That's a part of, hopefully, the en- ticement to come to Notre Dame," Free- man said. "You're going to be able to utilize this huge platform that we have. We want our guys to be well-rounded individuals. "I'm glad Jordan is able to capitalize off that opportunity and still get every- thing in terms of football that we asked him to do." ✦ "Ultimately, I want to make the most out of [my Notre Dame experience]. I felt that doing the podcast is something that would benefit me greatly in that area." CLARK