Texas football adds powerful, explosive RB in 4-Star Christian Clark

Texas football hauled in its third commitment in the last week and the fifth pledge total in the 2024 recruiting class on June 22 with the touted four-star Phoenix (AZ) Mountain Pointe running back Christian Clark. After landing Clark this week, Texas would be at six total commits in its 2024 recruiting class, but four-star Houston (TX) Clear Lake athlete Hunter Moddon re-opened his recruitment on June 22.

The blue-chip running back recruit out of Arizona, Clark, is the first running back to commit to the Longhorns 2024 class after a successful official visit last weekend. Clark was one of the high-priority out-of-state running back recruits in this class for RB coach Tashard Choice and the Longhorns.

He and the No. 1 rated running back recruit in the nation in the 2024 class, five-star IMG Academy product Jerrick Gibson, were the two backs that Choice and the Longhorns wanted for this cycle.

Texas football gets its first RB commit in the 2024 class in 4-Star Christian Clark

Clark announced his commitment to Texas via social media early in the afternoon of June 22. He announced his commitment to Texas in the 2024 class almost one week after he started his multi-day official visit to Austin last weekend.

https://twitter.com/christian6clark/status/1671926603008602112

It looks like Clark’s commitment is part of a growing wave of momentum on the recruiting trail for the Longhorns in the 2024 class. Even Clark himself mentioned after the announcement of his commitment to Texas on June 22 that the Longhorns’ “recruiting is about to blow up with some big commits coming in last week” and “hopefully more to come this upcoming weekend”.

Clark is setting his sights on helping the Longhorns to get “one of the top classes in the country” with the momentum that is starting to build on the recruiting trail in June.

Texas lands Clark over offers from Oregon, Georgia, and Miami

Texas landed Clark over other top schools in this recruitment, such as the Oregon Ducks, Arizona State Sun Devils, Georgia Bulldogs, and Florida State Seminoles. Clark visited Oregon (June 9) and Florida State (June 2) officially before making the official trip to Austin last weekend.

He was also scheduled to make an official visit to Athens, GA, starting June 23 to see Georgia.

The relationship Choice built with Clark and his family is one of the biggest reasons Texas landed his commitment in the 2024 class. Choice had the best relationship of any of the coaches recruiting Clark in the last year or so.

Clark gives Texas a versatile and dynamic playmaker at RB

What Texas is getting out of the 5-foot-11 and 195-pound Clark is a powerful and dynamic rusher that brings a lot of versatility out of the backfield. Clark is a threat as a receiver and a rusher in multiple different schemes.

The agility and field vision that Clark brings to the table makes him a more than capable enough back to let the running lanes develop in gap schemes. He shows a lot of patience and acceleration once the gap opens up to gain yards in big chunks.

Meanwhile, Clark is powerful and explosive enough to find the gaps in zone-blocking schemes, regardless of whether it’s outside or inside. Clark went off for multiple explosive runs of 50 yards or more on outside zone runs that saw him find the open field and turn on the afterburners to the endzone.

Yet, if Clark is assigned to run the ball on inside zone plays, his downhill running style and strong base allow him to shake off poor tackling attempts from out-of-place defensive linemen and linebackers.

We also shouldn’t sleep on Clark’s ability to make opposing defenders miss in tight areas. Clark’s elusiveness and speed in change of direction are often overlooked when I see pundits dissecting his skill set.

He’s shown on film in high school and camp/combine settings that he possesses well-above-average agility and change of direction, which helps him avoid even more tackles in tight spaces.

Another way that Clark can beat opposing defenses is as a receiver out of the backfield. He’s a capable route runner that has good hands and knows how to adjust in-route to make tougher catches.

Clark’s ability to be a threat with the ball in his hands in space translates to what he can do after the catch to pick up extra yardage.

Last season at Mountain Pointe High School, Clark proved his versatility and potency as a receiving threat out of the backfield with his on-field production. During his junior campaign, Clark registered more than 350 receiving yards and nearly 750 rushing yards en route to totaling more than 1,100 all-purpose yards (per MaxPreps).

Clark was also a consistent receiving threat in the red zone last season, registering four touchdown catches within 20 yards of the goalline.

Moreover, some of the finer points of Clark’s game that should be considered strengths are his pass-blocking and balance. Clark is a good blocker for a running back that is only a rising high school senior. His large frame, strong base, and solid blocking fundamentals make him a valuable blocker in pass and run-blocking situations on offense.

Clark’s balance is an attribute that makes him more effective in the open field as a rusher and a receiver. He has excellent body control, which can help him tip-toe on the sidelines and find tight gaps in the chaos at the line of scrimmage, allowing him to pick up valuable extra yards.

Areas of improvement for Clark

All told, Clark is a polished running back that is capable of getting live-game reps in multiple different situations and schemes on offense within his first year or two on campus. But there are still some areas of improvement for Clark that can make him a more complete back and a bigger threat in the open field at the next level.

First, I think Clark’s field vision (a strength compared to most other running back recruits in this class) is improving. His timing in hitting the gaps in zone run plays can occasionally be too patient. Clark could be an even more dangerous big-play threat if he becomes more confident in picking his lanes and exploding through the hole.

Given that Clark wasn’t getting starter-level reps until last season at Mountain Pointe, it is to be expected that parts of his feel for the game are still improving.

Another potential area of improvement for Clark will be his fundamentals as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. Clark sometimes catches the ball with his body instead of his hands. Since Clark has good hands and body control, it will be a transformative progression in his ability as a receiver out of the backfield if he can start catching the ball with his hands instead of his body.

Fit at Texas

Clark will be coming into a running back room stocked with talent on the Forty Acres next year. Texas could have Gibson, Clark, CJ Baxter Jr., Jonathon Brooks, Tre Wisner, Jaydon Blue, and Savion Red all returning at running back next season. If Texas is able to at least hold onto guys like Baxter, Brooks, and Blue while bringing in blue-chips like Clark and Gibson, Choice will have one of the three or four most talented RB rooms in the entire country in 2024.

Since Texas is expected to have so much talent and depth in the running back room in 2024, Clark must fight to earn his spot on the depth chart.

But there are still strengths that Clark brings to the table that will make him unique in different plays and situations on offense for Sark and the Longhorns. I could see Clark being an effective blocker and a versatile receiver out of the backfield that gets live-game reps in his first year or two on the 40.

Ultimately, Clark will be a nice compliment to what Texas has in the backfield with elite talents such as Baxter and Gibson. He will be a quality back with a lot of versatility for Texas’ RB room for multiple years in the future.

Upon the de-commitment of Moddon this week, Texas is back to five recruits in the 2024 class after landing Clark on June 22. According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, the 2024 Texas recruiting class ranks No. 54 in the nation.