Last fall 2024 Mississippi State signee Fred Clark capped off his prep gridiron career in fine fashion for Winona High School. The On3 three-star linebacker and his Tiger teammates produced the perfect season en route to the Class 3A state championship.
This spring Clark remained active in athletics at Winona High School and is now just a few days away from moving to Starkville to begin his college career. Clark is rated as the nation’s No. 74 linebacker and the state’s No. 24 prospect by On3 composite rankings.
“I did track in the spring and I was doing the high jump,” Clark said. “Then I’ve been in training and working out for football and getting prepared for that. It’s not hard believe I am at State now because I was ready to get down there.”
Clark initially committed to Ole Miss last year before switching his decision to Mississippi State last June. That commitment was given to the former staff at Mississippi State and over the past few months, Clark has been steadily building relationships with the Bulldogs’ new staff, particularly with defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler.
“Coach Hutzler has been facetiming me some and I’ve been facetiming him, too,” noted Clark, who moved to Starkville on Thursday along with several other 2024 signees. “We’ve just been building that relationship so things will be good when I get there. He tells me that he is ready for me to get down there so we can get to work.”
During his recruiting process, Clark has discussed the possibility of playing either mike or edge linebacker at the next level. He’s noted of those recent conversations with Hutzler and as expected, a lot of that future depends on where he fits the best.
“We’ve talked about my position a few times,” Clark added. “I could play all three of their linebacker positions and it just depends on where I fit. Coach Hutzler just wants to get me there to see where I fit the best.”
Naturally and like most incoming true freshmen, Clark wants to earn reps his first season in the SEC in any capacity possible. But he also realizes the process he has to take before getting to that point as a true freshman. This spring he was able to get an up-close view of State’s linebackers in practice drills in order to know what awaits him.
“I just want to work hard to get some playing time,” mentioned the 6-foot-2 and 245-pound Clark. “Whether I am starting or getting playing time, I have to work for it and I just want to play ball. I have to learn the system first and then keep at it.
“I was able to see some of their spring practices, too. I was down there with Coach Hutzler with the linebackers so I could see how things move in college.”
From a physicality standpoint, Clark will likely be ahead of that curve compared to fellow freshmen. But one aspect of the game he has to adjust to is simply the speed of the SEC and the pace of the college game.
“I think I can adjust well,” remarked Clark. “But I’ve heard that everything is faster at that level. So I have to work on my speed and get my speed up.”
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