Clark Brothers Walk Into Golden Opportunity at UCLA

The first thing is, they are nearly always tempted to quit.

Mostly, college football walk-ons think about it in August--hot days and long practices--and in November, when another season has passed and they still haven’t played much since high school.

But once in a while, they find themselves at the right school in the right year and one day it is Thanksgiving, and never before has this day meant so much.

At a time set aside for close friends and family, UCLA’s Jeff and Jason Clark are sharing something few brothers can. Only one set of siblings who walked onto a major college football team figure to play in the Rose Bowl this January.

“They’re great kids,” said Rick Neuheisel, UCLA receivers coach and another former Bruin walk-on. “It’s a great family.

“Myself having been a walk-on, I really, really get a charge out of seeing those kids do well. They’re fulfilling a dream. Nobody asked them to come out. They came out because they really wanted it.

“It’s a neat thing to see kids’ faces when they finally get into a game and they’re out there in the middle of the Rose Bowl looking around saying, ‘I made it.’ ”

Jeff Clark walked on five years ago as a skinny freshman from Corona del Mar. After one season as a redshirt and three more of dedicated practice time, Bruin Coach Terry Donahue--a Bruin walk-on in 1964--rewarded Clark with a scholarship this fall.

“I wasn’t expecting anything,” Clark said. “We were two or three days into practice this fall when Coach Donahue called me aside and told me he wanted to put me on aid the rest of the year.

“I was really pleased. There’s a running joke on the difference between a walk-on guy and a scholarship guy here, so I got ragged for moving to the other side of it.”

Clark’s brother, Jason, walked on last fall, redshirted, and is in his first year of eligibility in 1993. He is discovering what his brother learned the last few years.

“You have to make it fun, it’s so time consuming,” Jason Clark said. “You get very little respect from the other players and coaches. So the other walk-on receivers and I, we try to have a good time.

“You can’t always take it seriously. If you do, your pride gets in the way and your attitude is horrible--you go out there bitter. Not only does a walk-on have to show that he is equally able (as another player), you have to show you’re better. That’s the only way the coaches will give you a chance. You have few opportunities.”

Neuheisel agreed.

“It’s difficult,” he said. “You come in with high expectations. You were a star in high school. You want to hear that you’re going to get the same opportunities as a scholarship player. But you don’t.

“Mainly, the talent is different but also, there is an investment in the scholarship players that coaches have made and they want to see those investments pay dividends.”

But while many walk-ons don’t do much more than work on the scout team in practice--imitating what that week’s opponent is expected to do--Jeff Clark has worked his way up as a holder on kicks. He held for all of Louis Perez’s field goals and extra points last fall and is doing the same for Bjorn Merten this fall.

“If I play a lot,” Jeff Clark said, “It usually means we’re doing well.”

He has been able to make a progression each year, which has made things easier. In his first season after redshirting, because of several injuries, he was put on the travel squad for a game at Michigan. In his second season, he got in for a few plays at receiver against San Diego State, Arizona and Washington State. He caught a 51-yard pass against the Huskies.

Then, last year, he became the UCLA holder, making all those hours of practice seem worthwhile.

“I’ve been tempted to quit quite a bit, actually,” he said. “My second year of school I joined a fraternity. It was difficult for me to go to practice every day and not see a lot of results, then go home and hear how my fraternity brothers played golf and went to the beach.

“I’ve considered giving it up every season but my dad has really helped keep me going. . . . And I’ve been fortunate, I’ve moved up the ladder a little each year.”

And the Bruins’ success this year has left Clark with no doubt that he made the right decision.

“I know I would have been thinking, ‘The one year I don’t play, they go to the Rose Bowl,’ ” he said.

Jason Clark, also a receiver, got in for a play this fall against Arizona and Washington.

“I think I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “It’s gone pretty well.”

And since Jeff was a senior at Corona del Mar when Jason was a freshman, the last two falls are really the only two that they’ve been able to play together. That’s been another bonus for Jason.

“It’s been cool,” he said. “Last year, especially, when he went through receivers’ drills every day. I’d make a catch and Jeff would say ‘Nice catch’ and at scrimmages, he’d be cheering me on.

“This year, as a specialist, he only goes to practice for a little while and then he goes and lifts (weights), but he came back to a scrimmage last week two hours after he had left and watched.”

Together, they share an apartment and are living in the same room for the first time. Together, they stood on the sideline last Saturday and watched--with their parents in the stands--as the Bruins hung on to defeat USC.

Together, they will share in all of the Rose Bowl excitement of the coming month.

“This is long overdue and long-awaited on my part,” Jeff Clark said. “With UCLA having such a huge reputation for bowl game success and tradition, of course I came in with those expectations. After the first couple of seasons, though, I never thought I’d make the Rose Bowl.”

As for Jason, he is going through some of the same emotions Jeff has already wrestled with. Should he return to the team next year? Is it worth the time and energy when he knows he won’t play much?

“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “To go out together on a Rose Bowl team would be pretty sweet. I haven’t talked to my parents yet, and I know they would encourage me to come back. But it would be a pretty cool way to go out.

“The next month, I think, is going to be a blast. The exposure we’ll get, being together, being with the guys on the team.

“It’s going to be the greatest.”