How LB Damone Clark overcame stacked odds to quickly earn respect of Cowboys teammates

FRISCO — Damone Clark learned more than football at age 6.

The Cowboys linebacker took up the sport at the peewee level for the South Baton Rouge Jaguars in Louisiana. Practices were held at Expressway Park, located beneath where Interstates 10 and 110 meet. Since park lights were not yet installed, on the evenings when Clark played linebacker and running back, parents pointed vehicle headlights to the field.

His experience as a Jaguar, Clark said Thursday, helped shape him.

Specifically the program’s mantra.

“Our motto is, ‘If we don’t work, we don’t eat,’ ” said Terry Boyd, who coached Clark from ages 6 to 13. “That’s been ingrained in him since he was 6 years old. If we don’t work, we don’t eat. It’s said literally. If Coach Terry don’t work, I can’t feed my family. If I want to feed my family, I got to get out, and I got to bust it.”

The Cowboys have come to respect how Clark works. In March, he learned at the NFL combine in Indianapolis he needed C3-4 spinal-fusion neck surgery to repair a herniated disc. Many teams expected him to miss his entire rookie year. Nine months later, on Sunday evening, he will face the Indianapolis Colts in his fifth NFL game.

It is very, very rare for an NFL rookie to distinguish himself as Clark has.

How he approached and kept himself engaged during his rehabilitation, how he takes notes and asks questions in meetings and how he studies on his private time all have contributed to him creating a strong first impression.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said Clark “caught my eye from Day 1.”

“I spend a lot of time here, obviously, even in the offseason,” Prescott said. “If I can say there was one guy who matched my time, it’s damn sure Damone. It’s impressive for a young guy to have that work ethic and to have those habits and creating them. He’s going to be special. I’m just glad to now see him play and get success.”

Clark underwent surgery March 24 in California.

The Cowboys drafted him in the fifth round in late April.

During his rehab, the former LSU standout routinely made the short walk from his hotel room to the Cowboys’ facility. He worked off-hours on off-days. When discussing that part of his routine, Clark expressed gratitude for the team’s support staff, who worked unconventional hours to accommodate him.

Multiple teammates praised Clark’s attention in meetings.

“His notetaking is immaculate,” linebacker Malik Jefferson said. “He has highlighters. He highlights stuff. He separates stuff. He is very detailed with everything. … You can obviously see his work ethic is going to pay off the more he gets into his career. He loves this game. He doesn’t take it for granted, for sure.”

Clark was not cleared to resume practice during training camp. Still, on the team flight to camp in Southern California, a Cowboys staffer spotted Clark. There he was, not sleeping or watching a movie like most players.

He was studying game film on his tablet.

Moments like that leave an impression. Clark has created many of them.

“He’s made comments, even in OTAs and this summer,” said fourth-year linebacker Luke Gifford. “He’ll bring up a question about a game when we played Philly last year or something that happened. I’m like, ‘You watched all of that?’ He’ll make comments here and there that you’ll pick up on early that just show the kind of guy he is and how hard he works.

“It’s not a surprise at all that he is having success.”

On Oct. 3, Clark participated in his first NFL practice.

On Oct. 30, he played his first NFL game. The plan was for Clark to work in gradually against the Chicago Bears, considering he missed the entire spring, all of training camp, the entire preseason and first seven games. Special teams would be his starting point.

That plan changed in the second quarter when linebacker Anthony Barr suffered a hamstring injury. The issue sidelined Barr that game and the next three. Clark finished a 49-29 win over the Bears with 40 snaps on defense and 19 on special teams.

Following a bye week, Clark returned to a special-teams role at the Green Bay Packers. In the two games that followed, both wins, he started against the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants while logging a combined 10 tackles and one forced fumble in 89 defensive snaps over a five-day span.

Clark often works beside Leighton Vander Esch on defense.

He and the fifth-year linebacker have rare common ground, having both recovered from spinal-fusion neck surgery. Vander Esch, who underwent his in January 2021 and has not missed a game since, shared his experience with Clark during the rehab process.

He often checked in and imparted advice.

“What he is doing right now is extremely difficult because I remember exactly what it felt like coming off of surgery,” Vander Esch said. “But I already had a little bit of experience in the league, and he had none. What he is doing and the way he’s worked to get back to where he is right now already, it’s extremely impressive, and I know he’s going to continue to do good things on the field.”

Clark credits the South Baton Rouge Jaguars for helping mold his work ethic.

How he was raised, he says, also was a major influence.

He recalls at age 8 beginning to notice his mother’s sacrifices. She juggled two or three jobs at once, cleaning hotels and other buildings to make ends meet. She would miss some of his games because of it, and he understood why. He learned this from his football coach.

She worked, so he could eat.

Clark said that his parents raised him to be a man of faith. Every time during games, before he takes the field for a defensive series or special-teams play, he makes the sign of the cross and acknowledges God.

Clark has a 2-year-old daughter, Dakotah.

He called her “my biggest motivation.”

“If you don’t work, you don’t eat,” Clark said. “If I don’t go to work every day, I’m not going to be able to feed my daughter. … You don’t want anyone to take care of your responsibility. That’s how I look at it. I don’t want anyone else to take care of my daughter.”

The work continues Sunday.

Twitter: @GehlkenNFL

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