One of the biggest surprises during the 2020 season was [autotag]Hudson Clark[/autotag]. A relatively unknown walk-on cornerback quickly became a fan-favorite and key part of the Razorback defense in [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag]’s first season as head coach.
Fast forward three seasons and Clark’s performance has been a mixed bag. In 2021, he struggled to replicate a lot of the success that made him a household name the year before. Clark moved to safety ahead of the 2022 season – out of necessity – and put together a good season despite Arkansas having the worst passing defense in college football.
He finished 2022 with 67 tackles, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception in 13 games. One of the biggest issues with Clark is his lack of size and athleticism compared to the elite SEC safeties. He became the focus of fan criticism on multiple occasions last season after getting ran over by opposing running backs and receivers while attempting to make a stop.
This led to a large portion of the fanbase underrating what Clark brings and ignoring that he’s actually a very serviceable defensive back. Pro Football Focus had Clark as the second best safety in the entire SEC in 2022 with a coverage grade of 77.0.
The coaching staff knew that Clark’s biggest weakness was his lack of size, and it looks like [autotag]Ben Sowders[/autotag] and the strength staff has addressed that issue this offseason. Clark, who is listed at 188 pounds, added about 12 pounds over the summer. In his pre-camp media session on Wednesday, head coach Sam Pittman talked about Clark’s gains over the offseason.
“Hudson Clark ended up gaining about 12 pounds this summer,” said Pittman. “Which he needed to. We would ask him to go in there and fill a hole on a running back and he didn’t have enough behind to fill it. He’s there but he just couldn’t get them on the ground at times. He’s one guy that sticks out.”
We’ll see if that added size proves to be what Clark needed to have another breakout season like he did in 2020. It shouldn’t be a surprise to you see Clark have another good year and help turn the Razorback secondary around.
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