Dominic Clarke, Cover
Corner for 2009
Maryland has provided two different cornerbacks to the Ohio State
program for the 2009 recruiting class. Darrell Givens committed during the Spring
Game only to be convinced by Penn
State that he could play
for the Nittany Lions earlier than he could play for the Buckeyes.
But the 5’11” 180lbs Dominic
Clarke, out of Frederick Md. Tuscarora couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be
the 16th commitment for 2009 and to play for Ohio State
and compete against the best wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs in
the Big 10 when he earned a scholarship offer just before senior camp earlier
this month.
Tour of the Campus
Clarke came
to campus the first Friday on June with his family for an unofficial visit.
While on campus he was impressed with the academics and Strength and
Conditioning Coach Eric Lichter impressed the young cornerback. He committed to
Ohio State before leaving campus at the end
of the weekend. Clarke plans on returning to Columbus for the June 20th senior
camp.
This wasn’t the firs time Clarke
was on campus as he visited for the Spring Game in April. “I have visited Ohio State.
I went up there for the spring game and it was AMAZING the fans are fanatics I have
never seen so many people at a spring game before.” He told us about his visit prior
to his commitment.
Smart and Athletic
Clarke
isn’t just a great cornerback prospect but also a great student. Currently
holding somewhere between a 3.5 GPA and 4.0 core GPA, he enrolled in several
honors classes this past semester and got perfect scored according to reports.
But he is also athletic, able to run a 4.41 40-yard dash, and having a 36 inch
vertical jump.
When we asked Clarke about his
ability on the field he told us about his quickness and play making ability. “I
believe my best attributes are my quickness, good techniques and I like being
physical that really helps my game a lot.” For his junior year Clarke played
running back as well as defensive back. He mentioned his offensive and
defensive stats to us. “My stats are 836yrds rushing (I only played 8 games at
RB) 6yrds/cary, 5tds, 3ints, 5 pass deflections.”
Offers and Visits
The offers starting to roll in for
Clarke, it seems surprising that there was a time when he wasn’t sure that he
would receive one offer. “The highlight of my high school career would have to
be finally getting my first offer because FINALLY it seemed like all my success
was paying off.” He explained to us.
But as
recruiting picked up Clarke received offers from Virginia, Maryland,
Stanford, Vanderbilt, Navy, Boston
College, Ohio State
and others. Before committing to the Buckeyes he had planned on visiting most
of the schools that had offered scholarships. “Over the summer I plan to visit
the rest of the schools that have offered me including Ohio State.”
When describing what he was looking
for in a college and a football program, Clarke seems to be describing Ohio State
exactly. “In a college football program I am looking for a team that is devoted
to winning no matter what their past record was. Good facilities, and good
coaches that are interested not just in the advancing my football skills but
interested in my academic and off the field life as well; a coach that truly
cares about my well being. The schools that have shown the most interest in me
are the ones that have offered.” He told us near the first of the month.