Steve Clark (full name Stevan Dion Clark) is a former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL)

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

who played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the 1981 and 1982 seasons.

Early years

Steve was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on October 29, 1959. He attended high school at Miffin High School in Columbus, Ohio.

College

Steve went to

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public insti ...

, as a freshman and sophomore he played defensive tackle, but switched to defensive end for his junior and senior years. In 1980, as a senior, he had 68 tackles and four sacks. He earned Player-of-the-week honors vs.

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

on October 11, 1980 with 14 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery. After his senior season, he appeared in the 1980 Blue/Gray Game and the 1981 Senior Bowl. He graduated in spring 1981 with a degree in elementary education.

Professional career

In April 1981 he was drafted in the 5th round (pick 130) of the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 1981, but was reactivated a month later and saw special teams duty and some DE time before injuring his left knee in a late season 19–10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He was replaced on injured reserve on December 16, 1981. Coaches and teammates said he had great speed and was an excellent pass rusher and would most likely compete for a starting job in the 1982 season. After a 2–14 rookie year and a new coaching staff in 1982, Clark was moved from defensive end to add depth to the Patriot offensive line. During the strike-shortened 1982 season, Clark saw limited regular season action. Clark returned to the Patriots in 1983 and appeared in all four pre-season games before being waived in September. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers in February 1984, but a knee injury in camp that summer ended his career.

External links

Steve Clark on Database Football1981 NFL DraftSteve Clark Patriots Alumni Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Steve 1959 births Living people Players of American football from Chattanooga, Tennessee American football defensive ends Kansas State Wildcats football players New England Patriots players