Mount Gilead fullback Anthony Clark will be performing that same role for Muskingum University over the next few years.
The Indian senior signed his letter of intent to play for the Muskies on Friday. He noted that he hadn’t necessarily been looking at playing football in college, but when Muskingum reached out to him, he decided to play. Another factor in his decision was simply liking the campus.
“It was between that and Kent State,” he said. “The more I visited it, the more I liked it. It’s not too big and the people there were friendly. It reminded me of home.”
Clark also noted that he’ll have the opportunity to immediately contribute.
“I believe so,” he said. “The coaches said they had to move a linebacker to fullback last year because they didn’t have one and they wanted someone to permanently fill that role.”
Clark, who is planning to major in either nursing or athletic training, was cited by his coaches as an unselfish player whose blocking performed a big role in teammates Deondre Cook and Jonah Barnett being the Blue Division Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016, respectively. For his part, Clark earned honorable mention accolades from the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference in each of those past two years.
“I work hard all the time,” he said in describing what he feels he’ll bring to the table at Muskingum. “If you’re doing something, do it the best that you can.”
Clark, who noted that he needs to work on his speed for the quicker play he’ll be seeing at the Division III collegiate level, felt that MGHS coach Jason Ross helped him a lot with some of the mental aspects of the game.
“Coach Ross showed me a lot of things,” he said. “Toughness and character — he mostly harped on character and being better students and men.”
When looking back on his high school football career, he noted that some of his favorite times revolved around off-season team-building activities.
“Definitely the camps we went to,” he said. “I had lots of fun there. Just the memories of being at camps and spending the week together.”
