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Clark could be part of solution at receiver

Tribune photo by CLIFF McBRIDE

Entering his fourth NFL season, Clark has spent more time on the practice squad than the active roster.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON

jjohnston@tampatrib.com

Published: July 20, 2009

Updated: 07/21/2009 12:33 am

TAMPA - Can Michael Clayton finally turn the corner? Will Antonio Bryant build upon his career year? Is there life after Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard? Will another veteran be signed for the third receiver spot?

There are questions, questions, questions for the Bucs at wide receiver.

As Tampa Bay prepares for the start of training camp on Aug. 1, there's an on-site receiver hoping to be part of the answer.

"I'm still here," Brian Clark said.

Not that anyone would notice.

Then again, Clark is accustomed to that treatment.

Entering his fourth NFL season, Clark, from Chamberlain High, has spent more time on the practice squad than the active roster. He has five career receptions - four with his initial team, the Denver Broncos, and one with the Bucs, who signed him in 2007.

Can Clark discover stardom? Probably not.

Can he make a difference? Absolutely.

He's a prime candidate to become Tampa Bay's third receiver. Already, he has established himself as a capable special-teams player. His fourth-quarter blocked punt at Atlanta last season set up the game-tying field goal.

"B.C. is definitely one of those guys who has stepped outside the box and into a position to play," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said recently. "When you talk about wideouts, you've got to talk about taking off the underwear, putting on the pads and letting him go do it. So we've got to wait and see a little bit."

One day, Morris was chatting with Clark. He stopped short, raising his eyebrows.

"Wait, B.C., you didn't get drafted?"

"No, Coach, nobody took me."

Clark was a productive player at North Carolina State with an NFL-style body (6-foot-2, 204 pounds). At first, he was upset at being bypassed. Then he signed a free-agent contract with Denver.

Then he met Broncos receiver Rod Smith.

Smith wasn't drafted out of Missouri Southern State in 1994. When he retired last year, Smith had 849 career receptions for 11,389 yards and 70 touchdowns - along with two Super Bowl rings.

"The greatest thing for me was just being around Rod Smith," Clark said. "He made me realize when you're undrafted, there's no need to carry a huge chip on your shoulder. Your work doesn't stop. You shouldn't get all droopy-faced about it.

"When I grasped that, I realized the idea is to do whatever you can to be valuable, to make yourself last in this league. There are top picks who are out of the league in a few years. There are undrafted guys who last for 10 years."

Clark wants to be one of those guys.

In the meantime, Clark still gets a kick out of playing for the Bucs - "I'm in the new facility and I say, 'Hey, this is where the Tampa Bay Mall used to be,' and nobody even knows what I'm talking about" - and building his family. Clark and his wife, Shawntae, have an 8-month-old son, Christian, and a new home.

"Life is good," he said.

And it could get even better, especially if Clark becomes part of the solution for a wide receiver position riddled by questions.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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