When Carter Miller jogged onto the field last week at Kansas State, of course he thought about Shawn Clark.
“I was just thinking of things he would’ve told me pregame, what he would’ve told me to focus on,” UCF’s redshirt junior center said.
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The Knights’ loss to the Wildcats on Sept. 27 was their first contest since Clark’s death on Sept. 21 following complications from a medical emergency earlier in the month.
Miller and his fellow offensive linemen hear their old coach in their heads. They’re maintaining one of his traditions, too, by blaring “Zombie” by The Cranberries before each meeting.
Miller smiled while talking about that.
But it’s not just the offensive linemen’s memories — and speakers — where Clark lives on. He comes through in the presences of Alex Farah and Danny Hope, the two men tasked with filling the void as co-offensive line coaches.
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Farah was already on staff as a quality control coach when Clark entered the hospital. He stepped in as interim O-line coach before UCF’s rout of North Carolina.
Head coach Scott Frost referred to Farah as Clark’s “handpicked assistant.” The two worked together at Appalachian State.
After Clark’s death, Frost brought in Hope to help Farah. The 66-year-old hadn’t inhabited the sidelines since leaving Eastern Kentucky in 2019, but he and Clark possessed a lot of history together.
Hope hired Clark as his offensive line leader during his two stints as a head coach — at Eastern Kentucky from 2003 to 2007 and Purdue from 2009 to 2012. They coached together for a decade.
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Frost compared Hope, Clark and Farah to a grandpa, father and son.
Purdue Boilermakers head coach Danny Hope (right) and offensive line coach Shawn Clark (left) during the first quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats on Oct. 9, 2010, at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.
“Alex has been around Shawn long enough to where they speak the exact same language and would coach the exact same way,” Frost said last week. “… And (Hope) was a good fit because they were such close friends and approach things in a very similar way.”
Miller sees it.
“They’ve done a phenomenal job,” he said. “Farah has stepped in and done an amazing job with the role. He’s really broken everything down. We’re fixing some technique things, all getting on the same page. But him and coach Hope have done a great job.
“Coach Hope, he is a lot like coach Clark. Coach Clark learned from him, so it’s all the same terminology. He’s got the same fire, same little phrases. So it’s good to have him around.”
One of their first projects? Correcting the mistakes of the K-State defeat.
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The Knights surrendered three sacks and eight tackles for loss, both season highs. Frost mentioned the unit struggled to pick up twists. Yes, the Wildcats were the best team UCF has seen this season, but now into the Big 12 schedule, the opponents won’t get much easier.
Kansas (3-2) visits the Acrisure Bounce House Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
UCF will continue to have a little extra motivation.
“We think about him,” Miller said. “When things get hard, we all look at each other and lean on each other and say, ‘We gotta remember we’re doing this for coach Clark.’ It’s bigger than us right now.”
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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: How UCF Knights football O-line is adapting after Shawn Clark death
