Junior at SHS overcomes obstacles to reach number

Racking up 1,000 yards on the ground is no easy task but is especially tough when obstacles stand in the way.

That’s been the case for Starkville’s Rodrigues Clark the last two seasons. The Yellowjackets’ star running back put up 450 yards on the ground in just five games last year before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and missing the rest of the season.

Clark came out strong in 2017 as a junior quickly putting up a couple of 100-yard performances before another setback came into play with a strain in his meniscus. Once again, he’s come back with a vengeance tallying 1,129 yards in 10 games for the Jackets with 13 touchdowns.

That 1,000-yard mark is something that Clark considers a blessing and just one of the many goals he marked down in the summer after former Jacket wide receiver A.J. Brown came home to talk to the team.

“He wrote down all of his goals for the year and showed us and I went back to the house and did the same thing,” Clark said. “My goal last year was to get to 1,000 and be at 2,000 this year, but I’m blessed with 1,000 yards. It means a lot.”

SHS running backs coach Carlos Kemp has seen first hand just how relentless Clark can be.

With three big injuries impacting his development over the last three years, Clark had every reason to slow down. Kemp hasn’t seen him take a rep off yet.

“He’s very dedicated to the game and to be the best that he can be,” Kemp said. “He’s going to do whatever you ask him to do and whatever it takes to be great. There is no task that is too big for him and he’s willing to do the extra mile.”

That motivation is thanks to the pressure that Clark feels to help lead his team. Just a junior, Clark leads his team vocally and by his actions on the field and attributes that to former Jacket Willie Gay Jr.

The former players have influenced many of the current SHS athletes, but Gay left a mark on Clark last season. It specifically came as he watched Gay finish out his career with a loss at Clinton High School. Gay didn’t want

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