The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70101
2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Jeremy Clark Goes From Greyshirt To Member Of The 2012 Class Michigan's 2012 class is fairly straightforward. They received a full scholarship offer from Michigan — and plenty of other schools, in most cases — and after eval- uating all of their recruiting options, opted to commit to the Wolverines. Signed, sealed and delivered. For Madisonville, Ky., defensive back Jeremy Clark, The recruiting story for most of the members of however, things weren't so simple. His journey to Ann Arbor had as many twists and turns as a mystery novel. Interest in Michigan sprouted from a visit to Ann Arbor. From there, he earned an opportunity to become a member of Michigan's squad some time in the distant future. Ultimately, he developed from a back-burner prospect to somebody that the Wolverines coaches simply couldn't pass up, and joined the 2012 recruiting class. In the very beginning, a relationship between his high school coach and Michigan's leader, Brady Hoke, got the ball rolling in Clark's recruitment. "Recruiting is really how I got to know him," Madisonville North Hopkins head football coach Will Weaver said of Hoke. "The more I was around him, I got the chance to see how they coach their players and run their program in general, and I got to know them personally, too." Weaver's respect for Hoke and his coaching staff grew to the point where he'll be certain to let the Wolverines know whenever he has a prospect that he thinks is worthy of playing at Michigan. Because of that, he loaded his talented young safety into a car one fateful day last summer, and took the eight-hour drive up to Ann Arbor. "What happened was that I sent film up there, and I talked to Coach Mark Smith some," Weaver explained. "He watched film on Jeremy, and said: 'Coach, we re- ally want to see Jeremy in camp.' He told me that at 2 o'clock during the day, and at 3 o'clock we were in a vehicle heading up there to Michigan." Clark performed impressively at Michigan's sum- Clark is listed by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit, the No. 4 player in Kentucky and the No. 37 safety nationally. the likes of Cincinnati, Illinois and North Carolina State at the time, but he offered his verbal commitment to Michigan. He had fallen in love with the city and school, and couldn't see himself anywhere else. Plus, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. "They were saying that my future could be a lot mer camp. The Michigan coaching staff let him know that they wanted Jeremy to become part of their pro- gram. Unfortunately for him, they didn't think they would have room in the 2012 class. They asked him to "greyshirt" — enroll as a part-time student in the fall of 2012, and join the team the following spring. To understand why Clark ended up as a greyshirt of- feree, it's first important to know where he came from. He played his junior season of football at just six-feet tall, and his athleticism was not overly impressive for that stature. That was before the growth spurt. "He actually grew four inches in one year," Weaver said. "That's kinda why he was off the radar, and then came right on the radar very quickly. He has the in- stincts and the quickness." Michigan was sure they wanted Clark, but despite 44 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 brighter at Michigan than at other schools," Clark explained. "I'll have more opportunities to go off and play in the NFL. They just kept saying that hard work pays off, and they'd try to figure something out for me." In October, he received a phone call from the Michi- PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM gan coaching staff. They broke the good news to Clark. "They called me and they said that they'd had a meeting," Clark explained. "They said with the type of senior season I was having, they just wanted me to play now. They didn't want the greyshirt to hold me back. That's an example of my hard work paying off." Weaver is not surprised that his young charge was willing to put in the time in the weight room and on the practice field to achieve his goal. After all, he's a four-year varsity player for North Hopkins — rare even for BCS-caliber recruits. "He's a leader," Weaver said. "More than anything, his growth they still weren't sure they could fit him into the 2012 class. He had full scholarship offers from he leads by example. He's kind of a quiet kid off the field, but he definitely talks on the football field. He's a great character kid, and he's earned this shot." — Tim Sullivan