Jakai Clark just became Miami’s newest commitment and the 15th member of Surge19. Since Miami has no other offensive line commits, head coach Mark Richt and OL coach Stacy Searels were obviously very happy with the news.
“I told Coach Richt and when I told him, he just stood up, gave me a hug, and he went out to tell Coach Searels. It was supposed to be a silent commitment but they were screaming.”
Every recruitment has its ups and downs, but Clark’s has been more like a roller coaster.
“As everybody knows, my recruitment has been going up and down. It started with Auburn and that whole situation with them. Then me committing to Illinois and now we’re here. I feel like with Miami, with me and my parents going to see it for the first time, I’m completely comfortable with the school. That’s always a good feeling.”
Clark is fresh off an official visit to Miami this weekend, which also happened to be the first time he had been to South Florida.
“I really like it, both the coaches and the university. My parents loved it too. I just felt like it was really cool, the stuff they have set up for the athletes and the help they give in terms of school. It was nice, especially the weather. It was a lot better than Georgia.”
Jakai Clark takes pride in being a very cerebral player and he feels that is exactly what Miami will get out of him as a player.
“I feel like I play really smart. I’m not the biggest guy on the field, I’m usually not the strongest guy on the field, but I play smart. I know my assignment. I’ll know my stuff when it comes to the blocking scheme and I’ll rarely make a mistake. I’m going to grind every day and I’m going to give my best effort on every play.”
Miami has not been recruiting Clark for very long, but he gave us some more insight into the situation.
“Going out there for this weekend, my biggest question was: How bad do they really want me? I understood that they had no O-Line commits, but I was just trying to get a vibe as to if they really wanted me. What they did was they explained the whole situation as to why they didn’t offer me earlier. When I was committed to Auburn they wanted to offer me, but they felt it would be a waste of time and that they couldn’t flip me. Then when I decommitted from Auburn, they already had a center committed. But he recently decommitted and that’s when that spot opened up for me. They just explained the whole situation and it just made me feel more comfortable in where I was at.”
Clark also shed some light on the recruiting styles of the two coaches recruiting him, Mark Richt and Stacy Searels.
“Coach Richt, in my opinion, doesn’t even really recruit, he just talks to you. Most of the time I talked to him, he just kind of talked about general stuff. He’s just that kind of coach where is door is always open for the players to come and talk to him about anything.
"Coach Searels, to me his recruiting style is he is going to show you that he knows his stuff and that he knows how to get you to the next level and that's what he showed me while I was out there. He’s done this before, he knows what he’s talking about. He has plenty of guys to show off that are in the NFL or have been in the NFL. He just shows you his experience.”
Despite not enrolling until the summer, Clark has high expectations for his freshman season.
“I just want to come in and make an impact anyway that I can. I don’t have to start my freshman year, that’s a privilege and it’s not just given to you. I just want to help the team any way I can and hopefully get a national championship.”
Finally, Clark gave a message for Canes fans everywhere.
“Just expect a real hard-working player.”
“I told Coach Richt and when I told him, he just stood up, gave me a hug, and he went out to tell Coach Searels. It was supposed to be a silent commitment but they were screaming.”
Every recruitment has its ups and downs, but Clark’s has been more like a roller coaster.
“As everybody knows, my recruitment has been going up and down. It started with Auburn and that whole situation with them. Then me committing to Illinois and now we’re here. I feel like with Miami, with me and my parents going to see it for the first time, I’m completely comfortable with the school. That’s always a good feeling.”
Clark is fresh off an official visit to Miami this weekend, which also happened to be the first time he had been to South Florida.
“I really like it, both the coaches and the university. My parents loved it too. I just felt like it was really cool, the stuff they have set up for the athletes and the help they give in terms of school. It was nice, especially the weather. It was a lot better than Georgia.”
Jakai Clark takes pride in being a very cerebral player and he feels that is exactly what Miami will get out of him as a player.
“I feel like I play really smart. I’m not the biggest guy on the field, I’m usually not the strongest guy on the field, but I play smart. I know my assignment. I’ll know my stuff when it comes to the blocking scheme and I’ll rarely make a mistake. I’m going to grind every day and I’m going to give my best effort on every play.”
Miami has not been recruiting Clark for very long, but he gave us some more insight into the situation.
“Going out there for this weekend, my biggest question was: How bad do they really want me? I understood that they had no O-Line commits, but I was just trying to get a vibe as to if they really wanted me. What they did was they explained the whole situation as to why they didn’t offer me earlier. When I was committed to Auburn they wanted to offer me, but they felt it would be a waste of time and that they couldn’t flip me. Then when I decommitted from Auburn, they already had a center committed. But he recently decommitted and that’s when that spot opened up for me. They just explained the whole situation and it just made me feel more comfortable in where I was at.”
Clark also shed some light on the recruiting styles of the two coaches recruiting him, Mark Richt and Stacy Searels.
“Coach Richt, in my opinion, doesn’t even really recruit, he just talks to you. Most of the time I talked to him, he just kind of talked about general stuff. He’s just that kind of coach where is door is always open for the players to come and talk to him about anything.
"Coach Searels, to me his recruiting style is he is going to show you that he knows his stuff and that he knows how to get you to the next level and that's what he showed me while I was out there. He’s done this before, he knows what he’s talking about. He has plenty of guys to show off that are in the NFL or have been in the NFL. He just shows you his experience.”
Despite not enrolling until the summer, Clark has high expectations for his freshman season.
“I just want to come in and make an impact anyway that I can. I don’t have to start my freshman year, that’s a privilege and it’s not just given to you. I just want to help the team any way I can and hopefully get a national championship.”
Finally, Clark gave a message for Canes fans everywhere.
“Just expect a real hard-working player.”
