Pitt sophomore TE will see his patience pay off

redshirt sophomore who played one game at UCLA in 2015 before transferring, has been at Pitt a little more than a year now. But he sat out last season because of the transfer and a knee injury. Even before stepping foot on a college campus, he had made and backed out of verbal commitments to North Carolina and Michigan.

Eventually, he matriculated to UCLA, but that marriage didn’t last long. Even after leaving the Bruins, he reportedly was headed to Syracuse, but that, too, fell through.

“I’ve definitely grown up a lot since then,” said Clark, a New Jersey native. “I’ve changed. I have a different mindset now than I did a couple years ago back in high school.”

Truthfully, he has a different mindset than he did even one year ago.

Ineligible and injured, playing time simply wasn’t an option for Clark in 2016. So instead of really diving into the playbook and learning Pitt’s offense as much as he could, he slacked — and the coaches noticed.

“I think more of it was just my attitude about everything, knowing I couldn’t play,” said Clark, who enrolled in January 2016. “I was sort of lazy about certain things.”

Teammates and staff members kept on him, convincing him to be patient about the process and reminding him his time would come. Now, if anything, he just wants to avoid bugging coach Pat Narduzzi too much — texting him about what he can do better, how he’s progressing in his blocking in the run game.

“He’s been good,” Narduzzi said Saturday and affirmed again Thursday. “You watch him run down the field, stretch the field, he’s got soft hands, he can run.”

Can he do some of the same things in the offense that the 6-5, 263-pound Orndoff did last season when he caught 35 passes for 579 yards and five touchdowns?

“No doubt about it,” Narduzzi replied. “Chris Clark’s an athlete. We’ve just got to get him as sound as Scott.”

That’s the goal for Clark, who looks forward to seeing how he fares Saturday at Heinz Field when the Panthers have their first scrimmage of spring camp. He’s something of an old rookie, as he’ll turn 22 a few weeks into the season, but he also has just one collegiate appearance under his belt.

And, of course, a whole lot of time waiting in between his second one.

“I’m just so anxious to be able to play college football,” he said. “It’s been so long since I actually competed in a meaningful game. I’m just super anxious to start playing. It kind of stinks just sitting on the sidelines and stuff.”