Ryan Clark (American football)
 Ryan Clark during his tenure with the Redskins. |
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| No. 25 Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Safety | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: October 12, 1979 | |
| Place of birth: Marrero, Louisiana | |
| Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Weight: 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Louisiana State | |
| Undrafted in 2002 | |
| Debuted in 2002 for the New York Giants | |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2011 | |
| Tackles | 617 |
| Sacks | 2.5 |
| Interceptions | 11 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Ryan Terry Clark (born October 12, 1979 in Marrero, Louisiana) is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at LSU.
Clark has also played for the Washington Redskins.
On January 25, 2012, Clark was named to his first carreer Pro Bowl, replacing an injured Ed Reed.
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[edit] Early years
From 1993 to 1997, Clark attended Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana.
[edit] College career
At Louisiana State University, Clark started 36 consecutive games. In 2000, he was selected to the All-SEC second team by the league's coaches. Clark ranked third on the Tigers in 2001 with 88 tackles, including 63 solo, and also intercepted three passes. He recorded five tackles, including a 13-yard sack, in the Sugar Bowl and was LSU's Special Teams Player of the Year in 1998. In 2002, Clark was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Giants.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] New York Giants
Clark played for the Giants for two seasons. He played in the first six games of the 2002 season for Giants, all on special teams. He was waived during the bye week and signed with the practice squad two days later, remaining there for the rest of the season.
Clark had a breakout season with the Giants in 2003, starting four games and appearing in every game, either on defense or special teams. He posted 23 tackles (17 solo) and one sack, two pass deflections and five special teams stops.
[edit] Washington Redskins
He signed as a free agent to the Washington Redskins prior to the 2004 season. He stepped in for injured safeties Matt Bowen and Andre Lott early in the season and played in 15 games, starting 11. He led Redskins defensive backs with 91 tackles and ranked fourth on the team in tackles.
Clark played in thirteen games in the 2005 season making 57 tackles and three interceptions.
[edit] Pittsburgh Steelers
He signed with the Steelers as a free agent on March 15, 2006 replacing former safety Chris Hope who signed with the Tennessee Titans.
In 2006, Clark made 72 tackles playing free safety for the Steelers, along with one interception and three fumble recoveries. He played 13 games and started 12 of them, missing the final three with a groin injury. During training camp before the 2007 season, he remained starter despite playing a position battle with second year player Anthony Smith.
Clark ended his 2007 season early after having his spleen and gall bladder removed, after a game in the thin air of Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High caused health problems with Clark's blood due to sickle cell trait. Clark lost 30 pounds after the removal, but has returned to the Steelers in 2008.
To honor his former Redskins teammate, the late Sean Taylor, Clark wears Taylor's #21 during practices.[1]
[edit] Personal
Clark was active in the community while with the Giants, participating in the 2002 United Way Hometown Huddle by conducting a football clinic at the Highbridge Center for members of Alianza Dominicana, a local United Way agency that services families in Washington Heights. He joined forces with students from the Leadership In Public Services High School located at Ground Zero for "Operation PaintFest." Sponsored by the Foundation for Hospital Art, the participants created paintings of hope that would later be donated to the five New York hospitals involved in the September 11th tragedies.
Clark suffers from sickle cell trait, which can cause complications during extreme exercise conditions and hypoxia from high altitudes. In 2007, during a game against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High, he had to be rushed to the hospital in the middle of the game due to Denver's mile high altitude. After returning to Pittsburgh, his spleen and gallbladder were removed in separate operations. Since recovering from his crisis in 2007, Clark has been involved with sickle cell disease awareness, research, treatment and programming in Pittsburgh. Since the 2007 game in Denver, the Steelers have played the Broncos in Denver three times (2009 on a Monday night game, 2010 in a preseason game, and 2012 in playoff game). In all three instances, the Steelers sat an otherwise healthy Clark for his own health, despite having been cleared by doctors to be able to play in the thin mile-high air in Denver without any complications.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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