Wilson (NJ) wide receiver Amari Clark made the long-awaited return visit to College Park back on June 4 as the three-star prospect enjoyed reconnecting with the coaching staff. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound prospect took pride in being among the first recruits to visit the Jones-Hill House on the first day available on a day that reminded him why he gave his verbal in the first place.
“It was all love, it was fun. I saw everything the day it first opened so I was one of the first recruits down there, see the new locker room and new facilities. I was happy I saw everything. Coach Locksley and I got a chance to chop it up about school. It really wasn’t about football, it was just getting grades even better than what it is. Just wasn’t about football, all about getting the grades up to get down there.”
Clark, though, will look to complete his senior year and enroll next summer as he enjoys the full high school experience. When he arrives in College Park, it’ll be at wide receiver where he and Perry Fisher are already in the fold. “They want me as a receiver. Basically just trying to move me around the field and get me into open space so that I can work.” With him sticking on the offensive side of the ball, Clark will get an opportunity to hone in on the Terps’ passing attack this fall.
“The only thing they told me about the offense is it’s going to be a three-receiver offense. The receivers got a lot of stick routes, a lot of routes that get you open. So little things like that. I’m basically watching the quarterback to see who I’ll have next year. I gotta see the quarterback throw, run, take snaps and just see him in action.”
What else does he want to see out of the Terps’ upcoming season?
“I just want to see the offense ball and I want them to make a bowl game.”
Clark admitted that despite the Terps being the lone school to host him for a visit in June, a trio of schools has stayed in contact in Akron, Boston College, and Pitt. Clark doesn’t have plans to visit any of the schools so far but knows his official visit to Maryland will come later in the fall.
“Coach [Marcus] Berry got it set up so that if we don’t make it to the championship, I’ll come that weekend but if we make it then we’ll push it back until later December.”
Clark’s run at a championship will look a bit different this fall after former Wilson head coach Preston Brown was announced as the director of player personnel at Temple. Clark admitted he wasn’t privy to the upcoming announcement, but recognizes the void he can now fill as a veteran leader.
“We found out the same day everybody else found out, but I kind of prepare myself for stuff like this because the same stuff can happen in college or the NFL,” Clark said. “When it happened, it wasn’t a shock but it was more like next man up at this point. I’ve got to play a bigger part to the team now. I've got to get them on the offensive scheme and faster.”
Clark is rated a three-star prospect and an 88 overall by 247Sports, sitting as the sixth-best player in New Jersey.