At graduation in 1980, he was given the school’s Mr. He helped the Bearcats to a 9-2 record and a top 20 national ranking during the 1976 season. “I can go back now and say those two years I got to play for my father are still a highlight.”Īt the University of Cincinnati, a Division I school, Clark was a four-year letter winner in football as a defensive back. “Part of me said, ‘If I’m a coach, that’s how I would like to try to be too,’” Clark said. Clark played quarterback for his dad at Cincinnati Indian Hill High School his junior and senior years of high school.īut he wasn’t just learning how to play the game: He was learning what it meant to be a coach whose players worked hard out of respect. He enjoyed the competition, and, once he started playing, he knew he wanted to go on to the collegiate level. The elder Joe Clark, who is in the Ohio High School Hall of Fame for 237 high school coaching victories, wasn’t a big believer in early contact football for his children, so Mike Clark didn’t start playing football until ninth grade. They played their own games of football together behind the bench during games. The Clark brothers wore team jerseys and served as de facto mascots. His father, Joe, coached high school football, and 5-year-old Clark and his older brother, Joe D., would ride the team bus with their dad and his players to games. Joining Frank Beamer as headliners for the class: former North Carolina and Texas coach Mack Brown, Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Miami safety Ed Reed and Michigan cornerback and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson.Some of Michael Clark’s earliest memories revolve around football. His son, Shane Beamer, is an assistant coach on Georgia’s staff. He participated Monday night in Atlanta in the coin toss before the CFP national championship game, which featured Alabama against Georgia. In his post-coaching career, Beamer has stayed busy this football season as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee. He played for Claiborne and was one of Loria’s teammates.Īs his coaching career started to wind down in 2014, Beamer had to endure throat surgery in connection with a cancer diagnosis, but he returned for the ’15 season and slowly, but surely, regained his strength. Airy, N.C., and raised in Fancy Gap, played cornerback at Tech from 1966-68. He visited with victims in hospitals and spoke with families and students in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.īeamer, who was born in Mt. In addition to his coaching exploits at Tech, Beamer was instrumental in aiding the on-campus healing process after the April 16, 2007, shootings that claimed the lives of 32 students and faculty members. 1 overall selection in the 2001 draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He had 95 of his players taken in the NFL draft during his tenure, including eight first-round picks, highlighted by Vick’s No. Tech would go on to enjoy eight straight 10-plus win seasons from 2004 through 2011 under Beamer. Despite the loss, Beamer’s program vaulted into a previously untapped realm of national exposure. Beamer’s commitment to a consistent kicking game and exceptional kickoff and punt coverage and return teams earned its own moniker - “Beamerball.”īehind redshirt freshman quarterback and Warwick High graduate Michael Vick, Tech played for the BCS national championship in the Sugar Bowl in January 2000 against Florida State, losing 46-29. Tech’s teams under Beamer were traditionally strong in three areas: defense (thanks in part to Beamer’s long association with defensive coordinator Bud Foster), running game and special teams. Leading Tech from independent status to Big East Conference membership in 1991 and finally into the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, Beamer guided the Hokies to three Big East titles and four ACC championships. Not only did Beamer get Tech pointed the right direction, he turned the Hokies into a national power. E-Pilot Evening Edition Home Page Close Menu
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |