ESPN’s Ryan Clark shares struggles convincing son to leave Arizona State for Notre Dame

Clark spent five seasons with the Sun Devils, navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, his good friend and current Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels transferring, Herm Edwards making a mess of the program and current head coach Kenny Dillingham coming in to fix it. While the things around Arizona State were constantly changing, Clark never did until last year.

The graduate student put up 139 total tackles, 17 passes defended, three interceptions and a pick-six in five seasons as a Sun Devil, stacking his resume for every college coach in the nation to want him to suit up for them with his last season of eligibility.

The defensive back chose the Irish.

It was a full circle moment for the family, as his father always dreamed of playing at Notre Dame before ultimately lining up for their hometown LSU Tigers. Clark had a season for both of them, tallying 25 tackles, five pass deflections and one interception as the Fighting Irish punch closer to a national title.

Even though the Clarks are now happily playing in South Bend, Ind., it hasn’t stopped them from supporting the team that gave their family’s oldest boy a chance.

The older Clark has been extremely vocal on his various platforms in favor of ASU, going toe-to-toe with colleagues about Arizona State’s place in the playoffs. Following ASU’s thriller in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, the Super Bowl Champion quoted a video of him objecting to ESPN analyst Elle Duncan and two-time college national championship winner Cam Newton’s disdain for the Sun Devils in the playoffs, showing love to Dillingham.

“Always gonna show love! (Dillingham) just gets it. Did something for my son I can never repay,” Clark tweeted.

Monday is a pivotal moment — no pun intended — for the Clark family, watching the defensive back play in his last collegiate football game before attempting to follow his father’s footsteps in the NFL. Ryan Clark has won a Super Bowl, but he claims nothing will compare to watching his son play for a national title.

“It will be, from a football standpoint, the most important night in my family’s lives,” he said to TMZ on Monday.