STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -The hit jarred his helmet, shoved the chin strap into his nose and knocked him woozy.
Those were the last things Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark remembered before blanking out for several minutes following a hard tackle at Ohio State that left him with a mild concussion.
After a bye last weekend allowed him to rest, Clark expects to be ready Saturday to lead the No. 3 Nittany Lions (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) when they return to action at Iowa.
“It was really weird. I’ve never had something like that happen to me before, to blank out and lose a couple minutes of your life,” Clark said Wednesday in his first interview since the Oct. 25 win over the Buckeyes.
“I’m very anxious to go out and get that first hit, get the jitters out and see where I am,” he said.
Clark wasn’t actually knocked unconscious from what he described as a “boom-boom hit” involving a couple players late in the third quarter. He said he thought there was helmet to helmet contact; others told him his head bounced off the knee of Buckeyes linebacker James Laurinaitis
Center A.Q. Shipley checked on Clark, holding up two fingers in front of the quarterback’s face as guard Rich Ohrnberger adjusted Clark’s helmet back into place.
Clark finished the drive, then went to the sideline and was checked by doctors.
“I was pretty messed up, but I didn’t want to come out of the game, Clark said.
His displeasure showed on the sideline as he stalked up and down the field after backup Pat Devlin replaced him early in the fourth quarter.
But Clark acknowledged he doesn’t remember anything from about two minutes into the fourth quarter, after he came out of the game, until the clock showed six minutes left to play.
In between, linebacker Navorro Bowman recovered a fumble by Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Eight plays later, Devlin scored from a 1 yard out with 6:25 left to give Penn State a 10-6 lead.
“There were a lot of people talking to me on the sideline, saying I was kind of mad that I wasn’t in the game. I don’t remember that at all,” Clark said. “When I came to, I think we just scored. I was back to my regular self, and realizing what was going on, I just became a fan.”
It was Clark’s second concussion of his college career; he got knocked to the turf in 2006 when he came on in relief of Anthony Morelli during a loss to Michigan.
said.
“Usually when you get hit like that, you get a little ringing,” Clark said. “I kind of knew this might be a concussion because that ring did not disappear until the next day.”
Clark is officially listed as “probable” for Iowa, and coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday he thought his quarterback will be fine.
Clark said he’s not worried that Penn State scored just 13 points against Ohio State, which is about 30 less than their season average.
The Big Ten’s top-rated passer has thrown for 11 touchdowns and run for eight in pacing the Spread HD offense. He’s been wearing a green cross over his jersey at practice, meaning he can’t be hit.
“The green cross for a quarterback doesn’t mean anything because we’re not allowed to touch him anyway,” defensive end Josh Gaines said. “He’ll be ready to go. They’re just making sure no one touches him.”
Add A Comment