When you�re a football
coach like North Gaston High School�s Bruce Clark, describing the
talents of a player who also happens to be your son can be tricky.
�The hardest part about
coaching your son is when you start getting questions about how good he
is because it always comes back like you�ve given him preferential
treatment,�� said Clark, who first faced the situation when his oldest
son, Justin, played quarterback for him at North Gaston. Justin went on
to a college career at Western Carolina where he led the Catamounts in
passing during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
Clark admits he�s gone out
of his way to avoid that perception the last three years coaching his
second son, Joshua. But growing up a coach�s son, both the good and bad,
have helped the 6-foot-4 1/2, 255-pound Joshua Clark develop into a
college prospect on the offensive line.
�He�s probably been yelled
at and treated harder than any kid on our football team by 100 percent.
It�s not even close,�� Bruce Clark said. �But otherwise, I think that
(being coach�s son) has been a definite plus for him.
�He does have great
instincts. He is one of the most fundamental linemen I�ve ever coached.
But heck, he ought to be because that�s all he�s ever heard. All he�s
ever known is get in the truck and go watch football. He�s been there
every day.
�If I was a college coach,
I think I�d recruit every coach�s son I could get.��
East Carolina head coach
Skip Holtz and tight ends coach Phil Petty must agree.
They extended a
scholarship offer to Clark on November 8, and he accepted it three days
later to become ninth member of the Pirates recruiting Class of 2008.
Clark said the
relationship he�d built with Holtz, Petty and offensive line coach Steve
Shankweiler since ECU first made contact with him as a junior was a
major factor in choosing the Pirates over interest from the U.S. Naval
Academy and Vanderbilt.
�The coaching staff really
made the decision easy,�� Joshua Clark said. �They�ve created a family
setting there, and that felt comfortable to me. I didn�t even look at
their roster much. I just kind of looked at the school overall and made
my decision.��
Bruce Clark said his son
was sold on the Pirates soon after visiting Greenville for the ECU-North
Carolina game in September. An energetic crowd of 43,000 at
Ficklen-Dowdy Stadium cheered the Pirates to a 34-31 win over the Tar
Heels.
�What a great atmosphere
that was,�� Bruce Clark said. �I think after that Josh was just waiting
for somebody to call and make him that offer.��
Now that Joshua�s
recruitment is finished, both Clarks can concentrate on getting North
Gaston even deeper into the state playoffs.
The Wildcats enter
Friday�s third-round state 3-A playoff game at Anson County with a 10-2
record. They�ve produced that mark behind a talented offense that
features both Joshua Clark and quarterback A.J. Blue. Blue is regarded
as one of the state�s top college prospects and owns scholarship offers
from Illinois and North Carolina.
�It�s been a great
experience playing with A.J.,�� Joshua Clark said. �We�ve developed a
brotherly relationship.
�I guess our season has
been a surprise in some ways. We anticipated a lot of players coming
back, but a lot of them wound up not playing because of eligibility.
Still, we knew we had the talent, but the didn�t know if we had the
heart. But we found out we do.��
This is Joshua�s third
season on the North Gaston varsity. He played on the junior varsity as a
freshman, then joined the varsity as a part-time starter on the
offensive line and as the full-time deep snapper as a sophomore.
The last two seasons Clark
has played a variety of positions, but most of his action has come as a
starter at offensive guard and deep snapper.
Clark has also been a star
for the Wildcats baseball team up to this season, playing first base and
pitching. He posted a 3-1 record on the mound last spring, but will give
up the sport to concentrate on his football training this year.
The Pirates have recruited
Clark to play one of the �inside�� positions on the offensive line,
either �guard or center,�� Bruce Clark said.
�Josh has got a lot of
upside to him and I think it�s a great fit for him,�� he said. �The kid
is only 17 years old. He�s still growing. I really think he�s going to
be a 6-6, 300 pounder one day. I think he has a lot of growing left.
I�ll be honest. I hope they can redshirt him so he gets that extra year
to get a little stronger and mature. He�s grown 2 1/2 inches this year.
I think he�s going to be a big old boy.��
Joshua is excited for the
opportunity East Carolina is going to give him to live up to that
potential.
�I�ll do anything that
needs to be done to help them win,�� Joshua Clark said. �It�s a great
opportunity for me and I plan to make the most of it.��
[View
thumbnail sketches of other players verbally committed to join ECU's
recruiting class of 2008.]
