SCOUTING THE COMMITS: Quarterback Danny Clark

Cats Illustrated's new series scouting each of Kentucky's 2017 commits begins with quarterback Danny Clark.

The three-star pocket passer from Akron (Ohio) Hoban only committed to the Cats a few weeks ago, but he plays a position of such importance that he's worth a look right away.

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SENIOR YEAR: Clark is currently preparing to lead Archbishop Hoban into the Division III state championship game against Trotwood-Madison. Archbishop Hoban previously defeated Howland (37-0), St. Vincent-St. Mary (21-7), New Philadelphia (34-3) and St. Francis De Sales (23-14) in their playoff run. Clark has led Archbishop Hoban to a 13-1 record in 2016, which includes a perfect 5-0 mark in the league.

Going into the playoffs at the start of September, Clark had passed for 1,803 yards and 15 touchdowns with 10 additional scores on the ground. To that point he had completed 62-percent of his passes.

STRENGTHS: As much as Clark's physical attributes and raw tools have been praised, there's been just as much (if not more) emphasis on his intangible qualities. In short, his personality, temperament and characteristics generally seem to be those possessed by good leaders. Clark is a vocal, upbeat and well-respected teammate at Archbishop Hoban. Scouts have said Clark is the kind of player who will have a good command of the huddle, and he'll command the attention and respect of his teammates. He's a hard worker who has a team-first mentality, he says what needs to be said and will be a good presence in the locker room and on the field.

Clark has a history of playing on a winning football team. This marks the second consecutive year that he has quarterbacked Archbishop Hoban to the state championship game.

You don't earn an offer from Ohio State, as an in-state quarterback who is only a sophomore (as Clark was), unless you've got some physical tools to work with in addition to those obvious leadership intangibles.

You also don't stick on Ohio State's commitment list for two years, as an in-state recruit, without learning how to deal with the spotlight. Clark's game has been as scrutinized for as long as any player in Ohio in recent years, and he's found a way to tune out the noise and thrive in his own environment in spite of whatever praise or criticism is coming his way. He's a player who has a balanced life beyond football and is a quality student.

Clark's size is impressive and has been for some time. He checks in right around 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds - a build similar to that of a player such as Daunte Culpepper, according to Rivals.com Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt.

Helmholdt, who has evaluated Clark extensively, has spoken of Clark's ability to "put the ball wherever he wants to on the field," in praising his arm strength. That arm strength helps Clark to keep defenders out of the box, which aids the run game (even if he's not going to be as involved in the run game as someone like Stephen Johnson).

When Clark has the time and the ability to go to his first read he's very capable of making tough throws look easy, hitting receivers in stride at every spot on the field of play. Another thing Clark does well is put the right amount of touch on most of his deep balls. He gives his receivers a chance to make a play on the ball and generally, not always, does a nice job of going with the frozen rope or the deep floater.

When Clark rolls outside the pocket he keeps his head up and doesn't lock in on one receiver. He surveys the field and communicates with his receivers, directing them to open spots on the field. So while he's not the fastest quarterback by any stretch of the imagination, he can generate big plays when he gets outside because he has the arm strength to put the ball anywhere even when he's moving.

Clark earned praise for his performance over the summer, particularly at Ohio State's Friday Night Lights camp. While the Buckeyes ultimately accepted a commitment from Tate Martell, that could have been, more than anything, a desire on Urban Meyer's part to bring in more of a dual-threat quarterback. And Martell is widely considered to be one of the top quarterbacks in the 2017 class.

It looks like Clark has the natural ability to develop quality footwork in the pocket. His drops are not bad (he's better there than stepping up or moving side to side).

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: Because Clark was committed to Ohio State for so long (and because he's a quarterback) there's no shortage of scouting reports, evaluations or criticisms (some more constructive than others).

Just as Clark has undeniable strengths - namely his size, his ability to stretch the field with his big arm, and his leadership skills - there have been parts of his game that have been picked apart by some observers. Plenty of people have said that Clark has needed to improve his accuracy, decision-making and mechanics over the years. Fortunately for Clark and for Kentucky, a lot of those same critics also pointed out that Clark seems to have started to clean up those aspects of his game, particularly since the summer.

Clark has not worked extensively with a private quarterback coach, as so many young quarterbacks have today. That's not always a cure-all, but working with quarterback specialist and coach Darin Hinshaw will probably go a long way towards quickly cleaning up bad habits and helping Clark to refine his craft in those areas that have needed to improve.

When Clark has had to go to his second read he hasn't been as effective as when he can lock in on his primary target.

Finally, Clark is a pro-style quarterback more like Drew Barker than Johnson in terms of his mobility. It's not as though mobility is a weakness, but it's not quite the strength that it is for a couple of other players Kentucky has recruited at quarterback. He will need to show that even if he doesn't have 4.5-second 40 speed, he can at least have the kind of quickness, pocket footwork and escape skills to extend plays and elude pressure when things start to break down.

Sometimes when Clark is pressured he sometimes drags his feet and extends his throwing motion when he's stepping up in the pocket. That's the kind of thing that can be cleaned up working with Hinshaw.

Clark has created plenty of explosive passing plays in the intermediate to long-range game. But he doesn't have the same track record of picking apart a defense underneath, consistently, because that's not the offense he's run. It will be interesting to see how he incorporates that part of the college passing game into his own repertoire.

If one were to trace the trajectory of Clark's stock, in recruiting circles, it would have started out very high when he was deemed to be a phenom early in his high school career, even when his game remained largely unpolished. Over the ensuing two years even as helped a new school to on-field success, Clark's stock dipped a bit as some questioned the pace of his improvement. But - here's the good news - the trajectory has clearly ticked upwards since the summer, so he's moving in the right direction according to most who have followed him.

WHAT'S BEEN SAID: Tim Tyrrell, Archbishop Hoban's coach, recently told Sean Patrick of the West Side Leader, "He’s at the point of his high school career where nothing is about him or his stats. Every week, he wants to get better and his challenge is to play a great state championship, just like he did last year" (LINK).

"Physically looks the part as he takes the field. Big left-handed kid with an extremely strong arm. Still needs to refine some of his on-field decision making under pressure, but has all the tools to be very successful at the next level. Was not really suited for what the Ohio State offense is about but could make some team that really places an emphasis on a big pro-style quarterback happy." (Kevin Noon, BuckeyeGrove.com)

"Big, strong-armed kid and tough as nails. Works hard at his craft. Has been inconsistent with his accuracy/touch but I thought showed improvement in that area over the summer." (Marc Givler, BuckeyeGrove.com)

"The strength of Clark's game is his big arm, which can be at odds with throwingan accurate football. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Clark is a big-framedquarterback and he has easy power. What he does not have at this stage -- and he is just a rising junior -- is the ability to put the ball where he wants it withconsistency. He started off throwing the football all over the yard, but to hiscredit rebounded toward the end of the first round and carried that over to thesecond round, throwing several sets of passes that were on-target." (Josh Helmholdt, Rivals.com, at the Rivals QB Challenge Finals in 2015)

NOTES: Clark's younger brother, Caden Clark, is a freshman tight end at Archbishop Hoban. He already has an offer from Kentucky.

-- Clark was committed to Ohio State until late in 2016. When he decommitted from the Buckeyes he opened his recruitment briefly before visiting Kentucky and choosing Mark Stoops' program.

-- Clark will be an early enrollee for Kentucky. All of the program's scholarship quarterback signees in the Mark Stoops era will have been early enrollees through the 2017 class (Drew Barker, Gunnar Hoak, Stephen Johnson, Danny Clark, Walker Wood).

-- Clark attended Massillon before transferring to Archbishop Hoban.