LEXINGTON, Ky. — Danny Clark, one of two quarterback signees for Kentucky in the 2017 class, hopes to push for the starting job as a freshman.
It's a lofty goal -- especially with last season's starter Stephen Johnson returning -- but Clark believes every quarterback should have the mindset of being the top man on the depth chart.
"Of course the big one is I want to be the starting quarterback," Clark said. "Any quarterback that comes in and doesn’t want to be the No. 1 guy shouldn’t be playing the sport. I’m always shooting for the stars and land on the moon is kinda where I’m going with it. I want to make the team better anyway I can."
Clark decommitted from the Ohio State in late September after having spent three years as a Buckeyes commitment. It took Clark less than a month after that to commit to Kentucky. Recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow was a big reason for Clark's decision.
The two formed a relationship when Clark was in the eighth grade. Marrow was one of the first coaches Clark contacted after decommitting from Ohio State.
"From day one, I built a great relationship with Coach Marrow," Clark said. "There was a stronger bond there. He’s just such a good person. If you met him or have known him, you’d say ‘wow, that’s a good dude. I can understand why he’s saying that.’ But when it came down to turning things around and making a better decision for me as a family, it was straight to him. I said ‘coach, let’s make this happen.'”
It wasn't just Marrow that sold Clark on the Wildcats. Quarterback coach Darin Hinshaw and offensive coordinator Eddie Gran also impressed Clark with their ability to adapt on offense. When starting quarterback Drew Barker went down with a back injury after just two games, Kentucky's offensive staff was able to adjust to Stephen Johnson's strengths and piece together an effective offense.
"The offense is so versatile," Clark said. "Coach Gran and Coach Hinshaw have almost mastered it. With Drew Barker playing and almost throwing for 300 yards in the first half, a big pro-style quarterback like Tom Brady, you can see what you can do with a pro-style quarterback. And then changing the offense to more of Stephen’s stature and play, we were still successful. It just shows the genius behind Coach Gran and what they’re able to do with what they’re given."
But in the end, it was the family atmosphere that head coach Mark Stoops promotes at Kentucky that completely won Clark over.
"The thing that put it over the top was how family oriented Coach Stoops is," Clark said. "He’s a big family guy and I love that. I can see myself playing for him for a long time."
