Will Micah Clark play as a true freshman?

Spring practice has come and gone for Rutgers freshman offensive lineman Micah Clark. The past month could have been considered a relatively quiet time compared to what was a very busy four-star recruitment.

Clark enrolled for the spring semester and while he was practicing as part of the Rutgers football team, most kids his age were finishing up their senior year of high school.

“It was kind of a weird adjustment at first,” Clark said following Saturday’s spring game at Rutgers. “You had the morning lifts, the process of going to class and finding what bus you have to take to get to class. That was a little bit hard at first. I really just got into it and I had my brothers with me and my teammates with me. So we took turns on setting our alarms, who is getting each other up and who is driving to class when we had our cars. The adjustment is going great now because we are used to it. It is like p’s and q’s because it is easy.”

Clark came in with a great deal of recruiting hype, although he still needs to add some size in order to compete in the Big Ten.

“I gained 20 pounds this spring. I got up to 280,” Clark said. “I came in light because of wrestling, so I had to gain some pounds. What really helped was [strength] coach [Kenny] Parker staying on me and making sure I gained a pound every day.”

The target weight for training camp is a little heavier.

“It is 290, 300 pounds,” Clark revealed.

By the end of spring practice, Clark was still down on the depth chart, but he fully understands that is all part of the process.

“I knew it was going to be hard coming in, so I kept my mind on my goal. That was to make it through the camp and make it as a college player. I am not just a high school player with four stars with the hype of the media. I want to really show my name out there on the field.”

For more on Clark and where he stands in the hunt for playing time, check out our latest Scarlet Slant.