Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

high school sportsFootball

The college football world now knows about walk-on Hudson Clark — an overlooked DB who dominated at Highland Park

Drive and dedication tells the story of how “Hud Island” went from Highland Park to Arkansas.

He had to keep his distance. Those were the doctor’s orders, but Hudson Clark couldn’t stay too far away.

The sun, the doctor told his family, could be harmful during his concussion recovery, so Hudson put on sunglasses and a ball cap, opened the balcony doors and placed a living room chair where the shadow met the light. The lower the sun set, the farther he moved back, all while keeping an eye on the field.

Loud noises were also advised against. To drown out the whistles and the popping pads, Clark put in his AirPods, watching in the closest state he could get to silent darkness.

Advertisement

“He just opened those doors and sat there like a sad soul,” said his mother, Jennifer, “watching practice from afar.”

High School Sports

The latest news, analysis, predictions and more for each season.

Or with:

This scene played out for two weeks while Clark recovered from a senior season concussion. Instead of attending Highland Park football practice, he sat and watched from his living room, which overlooked Highlander Stadium. After practice, he’d ask his coaches to send him film and scouting reports for games he wasn’t allowed to play in.

“He didn’t want to be out of the loop,” said Humble Kingwood head coach Cale Melton, the former defensive coordinator at Highland Park, “He was that kind of kid — he wanted to be the best.”

Advertisement

That drive and dedication to the game might explain how we got to this point.

In a couple of weeks, Clark has gone from unknown, redshirt freshman walk-on, to national headliner. Last Saturday, in his second career start, he had three interceptions in a win against Ole Miss.

Pro Football Focus, a well-known analytical site, named him their national Defensive MVP of the Week, opposite of their offensive player of the week, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The juxtaposition tells how far Clark has come: perhaps college football’s most well-known player honored alongside a walk-on 99 percent of fans had never heard of until last Saturday.

Advertisement

“They’ve heard of him now,” Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said before a slight pause. “Three times at least.”

To many, Clark’s rise is a surprise. To those who watched him in high school, it’s a surprise he didn’t draw the attention of college coaches years ago.

“Hud Island”

Clark, Melton will tell you, is a winner. Clark won three state championships at Highland Park. Arkansas' loss to Auburn two weeks ago was Clark’s first defeat as a starter since Sept. 1, 2017.

During his junior season, Clark had 14 passes defended and two interceptions, playing a key role on the Scots' second straight championship team.

His senior season, he took a starring role, finishing with nine interceptions in 14 games. The Scots were so good that season that he often didn’t play the entire game.

Not only were the numbers impressive, but he also was doing it against some of the best talent Texas had to offer.

In the season opener of his senior season, he played Rockwall, a team that featured current Minnesota quarterback Jacob Clarke and Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who eventually finished as the third all-time career receiving yards leader in state history. Clark had two interceptions that night, one of which went for a touchdown.

Advertisement

Two weeks later he went up against Frisco Lone Star and Marvin Mims, now a receiver at Oklahoma. Mims ultimately finished his career as the state’s career leader in receiving yards and the national record holder for most receiving yards in a season. In that game, Clark — known as “Hud Island” in high school — held Mims to seven receptions for 52 yards. For good measure, Clark also came off the bench to kick the game-winning field goal — his first high school kick.

Highland Park's  Hudson Clark (14) breaks up a pass intended for Shadow Creek's Jared...
Highland Park's Hudson Clark (14) breaks up a pass intended for Shadow Creek's Jared Jackson (15) during the first half of the Class 5A Division I football state championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Dec 22, 2018.(Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)

Later that season, in a playoff game against Tyler John Tyler, he had two interceptions to help fuel a 42-35 comeback win. Highland Park trailed 35-14 in the fourth quarter.

“Then, I feel like everyone’s eyes kind of opened and said, ‘Yeah, this dude should have offers from all over the country,’” said former Highland Park quarterback Chandler Morris, now at Oklahoma.

Advertisement

But Clark didn’t have any scholarship offers. He never did, to the amazement of his coaches.

Melton said college coaches only come knocking at Highland Park for quarterbacks and linemen, but there’s smart, talented players at other positions. Clark is a testament to that, he said.

“We were sending stuff out all the time to colleges,” Melton recalled. "We said somebody needs to give this kid a chance. ‘I’m telling you, someone’s missing on him. You’re missing on him.’

“They didn’t want to give him a chance.”

Advertisement

Chad Morris, the former head coach at Arkansas, ultimately gave him that chance.

Morris saw plenty of Highland Park games because his son, Chandler, was the team’s starting quarterback.

Clark and Morris got to talking after Highland Park’s playoff win over College Station during his senior season.

Clark, along with teammate Finn Corwin — now a walk-on receiver at Oklahoma — eventually took an official visit together to Arkansas.

Advertisement

They went straight from the varsity basketball game to the airport.

Chandler recalled his father telling Corwin and Clark that they didn’t have any scholarships available, but that could change in the future.

If they walked on, they’d have a chance to earn one. It took three games of action this season before Clark did.

Advertisement

A humble force

Jennifer Clark was in attendance last Saturday with the rest of her family. Right in front of her eyes, her son was becoming a national story. She knows that now, but she couldn’t comprehend that in the moment. It was a blur, she said.

Clark had his first career interception in the second quarter, the first time anyone had intercepted Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral all season. The next quarter, another interception. Finally, in the fourth, Clark sealed the game with his third interception.

Photos of “Hat Trick Hudson” flashing three fingers flooded social media, but that was the extent of his outward self-recognition.

Advertisement

“Hudson is so humble and so quiet that you don’t see anything different, one high school game to this game,” his mother said. “It’s kind of the same kid. It’s interesting to walk up to him after [last Saturday’s game] and he’s just like, ‘Hey.’”

Clark, his mother added, is just so happy to be a part of this Razorbacks football team. Both his parents grew up in the state and graduated from Arkansas. He loves football, they said, and even though it never resulted in scholarships, he was committed to playing at the next level.

The fact that he is playing as well as he is isn’t a surprise to Melton. He said Clark is a sponge who will do whatever it takes to play. He’s a player coaches can trust, which – in combination with his 6-2 length and speed — is probably why Arkansas' coaches turned to him when one corner was injured and another opted out of the season.

Clark got an opportunity and has made the most of it. On Monday, Pittman told reporters that Clark will go on scholarship in January, the next chance they have to do it. That was the first time his parents had heard the news. When Pittman called Clark on Sunday night, his parents said the Arkansas coach told their son to keep the news between them for the moment. Clark, always committed to listening to his coaches, obliged, keeping his parents in the dark.

Advertisement

Clark’s father, Travis, said he cried when his son confirmed what Pittman said on Monday. That news was a surprise, but how his son has fared through three Southeastern Conference games hasn’t been.

“His YouTube highlights from back in high school, I guess no one’s looked at it,” Travis said, “because it’s just a lot of plays, so I don’t think we were too surprised. I’d say three [interceptions] in one game, we went crazy, but we’ve seen this type of playmaker for a while.”

Now college football has as well.

Advertisement

Top competition

Here’s a look at some of the receivers and tight ends Highland Park faced over Clark’s last two high school seasons and the schools those players signed with (name, high school, college).

NameSchoolCollege
Ife AdeyiMansfield LegacySam Houston State
Billy Bowman Jr.Denton Ryan4-star recruit in 2021
Latrell CaplesLancasterBoise State
Chritauskie DoveDenton RyanMissouri
Brandon FrazierMcKinney NorthAuburn
Tevailance HuntTexarkanaTCU
Kealon JacksonAlvin Shadow CreekNorth Texas
Malik KnowlesMansfield Lake RidgeKansas State
Marvin MimsFrisco Lone StarOklahoma
Jalen PrestonManvelTexas A&M
Ja'Tavion SandersDenton RyanTexas pledge
Jaxon Smith-NjigbaRockwallOhio State
Jarreth SternsWaxahachieHouston Baptist
Ke'Andre StreetTylerHouston
Chase Van WagonerLovejoyTCU
Dylan WrightWest MesquiteTexas A&M
Elijah YelvertonRoyse CityIowa
Advertisement

Find more high school sports stories from The Dallas Morning News here.

To view subscription options for The News and SportsDay, click here.