Former Kentucky QB Danny Clark back in the SEC after year in junior college
Danny Clark, a quarterback who spent his first two college seasons at the University of Kentucky, will be on the Wildcats’ schedule next season.
Clark signed a letter of intent with Vanderbilt University on Wednesday, the first day of the regular signing period for Division I athletes. He will have two years of eligibility with the Commodores beginning this fall.
After announcing toward the end of the 2018 season that he would transfer from UK, Clark enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Miss. He was the Wolves’ starting quarterback in 2019, completing 158 of 306 passes (51.6 completion percentage) for 2,166 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Several UK players sent congratulatory messages and words of encouragement to Clark on social media.
Clark did not play for UK in 2017, his redshirt season. He appeared in two games as a redshirt freshman the next year but did not attempt a pass; he registered two carries for 4 yards as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart that season behind Terry Wilson and Gunnar Hoak, the latter of whom also transferred after the 2018 season.
UK added former Troy starter Sawyer Smith as a graduate transfer last summer to build back the depth it lost in its quarterback room. Smith became the starter after the Wildcats lost Wilson to a season-ending knee injury six quarters into the 2019 season, but various injuries added up to force Smith to the bench. It’s possible that Clark, had he stayed in the program, would have been UK’s starting quarterback at some point last season. The staff eventually turned to Lynn Bowden — a wide receiver — as its starting quarterback in a revamped offense centered around the read-option. Bowden finished 6-2 as the starter and led UK to a victory in the Belk Bowl, its second straight postseason win.
Clark could compete for a starting job right away at Vandy. In addition to Riley Neal, a graduate student with no remaining eligibility, the Commodores have lost three other quarterbacks as transfers this season — Mo Hasan, Deuce Wallace and Allan Walters. All four played last season; Neal started against UK but Walters also played in a 38-14 loss in Nashville. The only quarterback remaining on Vandy’s roster from last season is Jack Bowen, a junior walk-on.
Vanderbilt signed three quarterbacks in the early signing period: Jeremy Moussa, also a junior-college transfer, and freshmen Ken Seals and Mike Wright. The Commodores retained Derek Mason but hired a new offensive coordinator, Todd Fitch, in January.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
