Jordan Clark ready to step up as Arizona State’s No. 1 cornerback

TEMPE — With Arizona State cornerbacks Chase Lucas and Jack Jones opting out of the Sun Devils’ Las Vegas Bowl matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers, it is officially Jordan Clark’s turn to step up as ASU’s No. 1 CB.

Lucas and Jones elected to forgo the Las Vegas Bowl in order to prepare for the NFL combine and 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, which a total of five Sun Devils will be playing in.

“That’s just an opportunity to show what I can do,” Clark said Friday. “I’ve played really everything this year at some point. So it’s just an opportunity for me to show what I can do and help my team win in a different spot than what I’ve been playing.”

The redshirt sophomore came into 2021 as the team’s nickel corner, but due to a plethora of injuries in the secondary over the course of the season, Clark also saw time at safety — something his dad, former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark, might know a thing or two about.

“I feel comfortable on the field,” Clark said. “Wherever they can get me on the field, wherever I can help my team best. I don’t really have a preference. I’ve played everything my entire life. I kinda really just like to move around and do a little bit of everything.”

In 11 games this year, he posted a total of 21 tackles this year on 19 solo (one tackle for loss) and two assisted, four of which came against the Washington State Cougars.

Clark also registered three passes defensed and one interception, the latter of which came in the 28-10 win over the Stanford Cardinal.

But even in the absence of the two senior defensive backs, including the vocal leadership of a captain like Lucas, Clark understands that it’s now his turn to step and fill the shoes of his departing teammates.

“The expectations stay the same even though they’re not playing,” he said. “They still expect the same things from us as they would as if they were playing. We have to go out there, just play ball. Nothing really changes.

“Obviously having them around, they’re so experienced, they’re so talented, it’s kind of like a thing where you know they’re going to make a play. But at the end of the day, we have football players in the room and the expectations are no different.”

While Clark may realize he has taken a big leap this season, he knows he still to put in the work that got him to this position and continue to improve on his craft in order to live up to the aforementioned Arizona State standards.

He added that he loves football and that it is his happy place, which is why he shows so much emotion on the gridiron. Clark is relishing the opportunity to play Wisconsin in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 30 at Allegiant Stadium.

“Just my improvement kind of really just at the nickel position as a whole,” he said. “That’s not something I had really done too much before (coach Chris Hawkins) got here and moved me there. But something I want to improve on really is just overall cover skills.

“Just understanding zones, understanding where my help is, all that stuff. Just getting a better understanding of the defense as a whole, knowing what everybody else is doing, being able to line people up and putting myself in the best position to succeed as well.”

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