Sam Pittman addresses need to have Hudson Clark at multiple positions on defense
Sam Pittman needed some versatility in the secondary against BYU and turned to Hudson Clark. Playing corner for most of his career at Arkansas, the redshirt junior moved back to safety on Saturday. The move paid off in a big way, with Clark being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
Now, there is interest in keeping Clark at safety after such a great performance. Pittman said he enjoys Clark as a player in general and is seeing signs of improvement deeper in the secondary. There will still be times when he will have to line up at cornerback, just out of need.
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“I think he’s going to have to play both, I do,” Pittman said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “Throughout the remainder of the season. I think he can but he has to be available to play corner as well. But I do like him. I think he is getting better back there at safety, things of that nature. But I do think he’ll have to play both spots.”
Clark finished with a career-high 11 tackles against BYU and was involved in two of the turnovers forced by Arkansas. He intercepted quarterback Jaren Hall and recovered what was viewed as the game-sealing fumble in the fourth quarter. In what was an important win for the Razorbacks, Clark was the catalyst in ending a three-game losing streak.
In total for the season, Clark has recorded 28 tackles and one tackle for a loss. While his best game of the year came against BYU, he recorded three passes defended in coverage against Mississippi State. The performances are starting to stack on top of one another.
More on Hudson Clark
The journey for Clark has been an inspiring one, joining the program as a walk-on during the 2019 season. He was then thrown into action during the 2020 COVID-19 season, starting seven games in eight appearances. Clark was tied for the team lead in interceptions that year with three, all coming against Ole Miss‘ Matt Corral.
Clark was put on scholarship before the spring semester of 2021.
Pittman has a versatile defensive back at his hands for the rest of the season. Clark has positive tape at both cornerback and safety. Injuries throughout the secondary will most likely dictate where the former Highland Park High School standout lines up. But we know Pittman will be confident with him moving forward.