Former Husker Worthy of Recognition

July 3, 2006 by Steve Hanway

In perhaps the closest thing the NFL has to a “Pete Rose� controversy, former Washington Redskin receiver Art Monk has been shut out of the Hall of Fame despite some impressive credentials. Art Monk never spoke to the press in his career and some believe that the Hall of Fame committee, made up of members of the press, is getting payback and perhaps sending a not-so-subtle message to other athletes that they either need to speak up or they will be shut out.

Sports Illustrated columnist and Hall of Fame voter Peter King is often labeled as the main opponent to Monk’s enshrinement. Among King’s criticisms have been that Monk wasn’t usually the most feared receiver on his own team, that his yards per catch were not that high, and that a number of players that came along after him were likely to surpass his career totals. However, faced with a constant barrage of “How can you leave Art Monk out of the Hall of Fame?� mail, King recently vowed to step back and approach Monk’s career once again with an open mind. Like Monk, one former Husker also deserves a double-take from Husker fans.

Ken Clark finished his career at Nebraska as the second all-time leading rusher, trailing only Mike Rozier. He followed a player with great speed and an even better nickname, Keith “End Zone� Jones. He played with a pair of quarterbacks who were setting records in Steve Taylor and Gerry Gdowski. Clark was then succeeded by a string of impressive runners including Calvin Jones, Lawrence Phillips, and Ahman Green all of whom played in a national championship game. Not hard to get lost in that shuffle.

But Clark deserves some respect. I’ve heard some people swear that Lawrence Phillips was the best back Nebraska ever had. Look at their career numbers and you can hardly tell them apart. Clark had 3,037 yards and 29 touchdowns on 494 carries (a 6.15 yard per carry average) and Phillips had 2,777 yards and 30 touchdowns on 449 carries (a 6.18 yard per carry average). Clark was the starting I-back for the only Husker team to win an outright Big 8 championship between 1983 and 1991, something guys like Jarvis Redwine, Jeff Smith, Doug DuBose and Keith Jones failed to accomplish.

Sure, there are guys with better numbers. But putting up numbers behind Steve Taylor wasn’t easy. In 1988, it was not uncommon to hear fans complain that Taylor was too apt to keep the ball when he should pitch it. If these grumblings were to be believed, then that likely cost Clark some big gains that guys who played with Turner Gill or Tommie Frazier would have enjoyed. But Clark had his moments. In the shootout with Oklahoma State his junior year, Clark rushed for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns on 27 carries. Nebraska needed all that from Clark as the final score was 63-42, but even that was overshadowed by quarterback Steve Taylor having a hand in five TD’s and the electrifying (and ultimately Heisman-winning) Barry Sanders playing for the Cowboys.

If there’s a single reason the Clark is too easily forgotten by Husker fans, it might be that he didn’t have that spectacular highlight that people just can’t forget. Like Mike Rozier reversing his field against UCLA or Dan Alexander going the distance on his first carry and outrunning everybody at Colorado in 1999. He also didn’t call attention to himself. Instead Clark was just a consistent, durable (though not especially large), North-South runner who always gave a sound performance (though often a quiet one).

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics they say, but in Clark’s case the numbers don’t lie. Like Monk, he is an all-timer who was so consistent he gets taken for granted. Hopefully, things are rectified soon for Monk with the Hall of Fame and that Husker fans can remember the contributions of one of the most consistently productive backs Nebraska ever had.

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