De'Corian Clark, WR UTSA: 2024 NFL Draft Profile
Clark was a three-star recruit from O. D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas in the class of 2019
UTSA wide receiver De'Corian Clark was on track for a top 100 selection before suffering a torn ACL in the 2022 season. He’s still working back from the injury and could be a nice day three addition in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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De'Corian Clark, WR UTSA: 2024 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Fifth-year senior wide receiver from Fort Worth, Texas
Background: Clark was a three-star recruit from O. D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,812 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,715 for On3.com. Clark was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 74 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Houston before flipping to UTSA. Clark was his district’s MVP as a high school senior when he operated as a receiver and return man. He also participated in basketball and track and field. As a senior, he finished second in the long jump at the Class 5A State Meet with a 24-8 leap. Clark set O. D. Wyatt’s school record in the long jump with a 24-9.5 that won the Class 5A Area Meet. He began his high school career at Everman High School in Everman, Texas, where he caught 26 passes for 719 yards and 11 touchdowns to lead the team to a district title. Clark was born on March 10, 2001.
Injuries & Off-Field: Missed five games with a torn ACL in 2022
Awards: 2022 Second Team All-Conference USA
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, and punt return units, excellent size with long arms, good hip sink at the top of the stem, fluid breaks at the top of the stem, smooth and snappy at the top of the stem, nice ankle flexibility, generates separation on comeback routes, lethal hesi-go, gets physical to create separation versus tight coverage, works back to the quarterback on broken plays, size allows him to dominate corners in contested catch opportunities, comfortable rising to high point the ball, body control at the catch point, red zone threat, flashes of high-level ball tracking, comfortable tracking the ball over his shoulder, makes diving catches going to the ground
Cons: Some concentration drops, release package is basic, some false steps in release, not explosive off the line, speed doesn’t threaten defensive backs in press or off coverage, struggled to generate vertical separation against press vs. Texas (2022), generates limited separation against man coverage, moments where he needs to work back to the ball more in contested situations, still developing his feel for holes in zone, lack of speed and agility limit his projection, some hip tightness limits the suddenness of his movement, limited YAC receiver, lacks agility and twitch to create after the catch, more effort as a blocker is required
Overview: Clark has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, and punt return units. His frame offers excellent size and long arms. Despite his size and weight, Clark sinks his hips well at the top of the stem. His breaks are fluid, and he’s smooth at the top of the stem with snappy cuts that display nice ankle flexibility. Clark’s release package is basic and includes some false steps. He isn’t explosive off the line, and his speed doesn’t threaten defensive backs in press or off coverage. Clark generates separation on comeback routes because of his skill at the top of the stem. He also uses a hesi-go to generate big vertical plays. Unfortunately, the Texas native doesn’t generate much separation on straight vertical routes. The Texas Longhorns (2022) successfully blanketed his downfield routes in man-to-man coverage. Man coverage as a whole is difficult for Clark to combat. He resorts to being physical mid-route to create separation versus tight coverage. Clark has a combination of skills that makes him an excellent 50-50 ball receiver. His size allows him to dominate corners in contested catch opportunities. He is comfortable rising to high point the ball and plays with great body control at the catch point. Clark has flashes of high-level ball tracking, but he suffers from some concentration drops. The All-Conference USA receiver is a significant red zone threat who maximizes all of his skills on shots to the back corner of the end zone. Clark tracks the ball well over his shoulder and makes diving catches going to the ground. He works back to the quarterback on broken plays, but there are plays where he needs to come back to the ball more to prevent corners from undercutting his route. Clark is still developing his feel for holes in zone. The fifth-year receiver lacks high-end speed and agility, which limits his upside after the catch. He suffers from some hip tightness that limits his suddenness and twitch. Considering his size, he needs to put in more effort as a blocker.
Overall, Clark is a smooth operator at the top of the stem and uses his size and ball skills to feast in contested catch situations, but his struggles creating separation and generating yards after the catch limit his projection at the NFL level. Clark will likely fill a role-specific position in the pros.
Role & Scheme Fit: X receiver or big slot in an 11 personnel heavy scheme
Round Projection: Mid Fourth to Early Fifth
Size: 6'3", 215 lbs. (Unofficial)
Submitted: 08-01-23