Wolfpack nose tackle C.J. Clark is prepared to fill big shoes this fall

Expectations are high for NC State entering the 2021 season. The Wolfpack is coming off of an 8-4 campaign in which it won a program-record seven ACC games.

The Pack returns 19 starters from that squad this fall, including 10 on defense. The only significant departure on the defensive side of the ball this offseason was former nose tackle Alim McNeill, who was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions this summer.

Enter redshirt freshman defensive tackle C.J. Clark, who is expected to be the lone first-year starter on the Wolfpack defense once the Sept. 2 opener against South Florida rolls around.

Although Clark isn’t considered a returning starter, he doesn’t lack experience. The 6-3, 300-pounder appeared in all 12 contests last fall and earned a start in two of those contests.

But he still recognizes the big opportunity in front of him, considering the last guy in his position was drafted this summer.

“I’m attacking it 100 percent every day,” Clark said.

Make no mistake, Clark will have big shoes to fill.

McNeill was one of two first-team All-ACC selections from the Wolfpack last season. The other, redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson, led the league in tackles, becoming the first player from the program to do so in 20 years.

While McNeill received most of the accolades last year, Clark was used almost as frequently as the newest Pack Pro.

McNeill appeared in 493 snaps in 2020, and Clark was on the field for 434. With those snaps, Clark produced 24 tackles and three quarterback pressures.

But Clark isn’t trying to be McNeill, and he recognizes the two approach the position with different styles.

“I feel like we play it a little bit differently,” Clark said. “He has a little more strength than me. He had an advantage with that, so I have had to change up my game a little bit. I think we’re pretty similar otherwise.”

McNeill isn’t the only Pack Pro Clark has trained alongside as a member of the NC State defensive line. As a freshman, he also played with former Wolfpack linemen Larrell Murchison and James Smith-Williams.

Playing a reserve role in each of his first two seasons with the program, he’s been able to pick up lessons from the guys that used to start ahead of him.

“Sitting back and watching is very humbling,” Clark said. “Everybody comes out of high school as the guy wherever they’re from. It’s humbling. That’s really the main thing. You just got to take it and learn from it. Just sit back and learn from the person in front of you because there is a reason they’re in front of you. That’s just what it takes to develop.

“You just learn from the older guys watching what they do on-and-off the field. There’s a reason they were ahead of me, and you got to find a way to take advantage of it. I played behind Alim and learned from him. I was also behind Larrell Murchison my freshman year. Those guys helped me a lot and taught me a lot, they were really good influences.

“From Alim, I learned to make sure to get your hands inside. That was the biggest thing he always told me. If you don’t have your hands inside, there’s not a good chance you’re going to defeat the block.”

While the role of first-team nose tackle seems to be Clark’s to lose this fall camp, he also recognizes the competition within the position group. Along with Clark, Florida State graduate transfer Cory Durden, redshirt freshman Joshua Harris and freshman Davin Vann are all capable options up the middle of the Pack’s defensive front.

“It’s a very strong rotation,” Clark said. “Those guys work hard, we all work hard, so it’s going to be a great opportunity for us.”