After the pain reached an intolerable level, he consulted local orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, who would later become famous for treating athletes such as Michael Jordan and Brett Favre.

Andrews told Clark that his spine was too seriously injured for him to play football, and that surgery (which was less advanced in the mid-1980s than today) was risky.

[2] During his tenure at Prattville, Clark compiled an overall record of 106 wins to only 11 losses (106–11) and won back-to-back Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) state championships in 2006 and 2007.

According to a 2022 story by ESPN journalist Alex Scarborough,[1]Clark recruited junior college castoffs since high school players wouldn't give them the time of day.

A team that had been snuffed out, a team that had absolutely no business competing at the FBS level, went 8–5 and appeared in the Bahamas Bowl during their first season in 2017.The Blazers would go on to win the Conference USA (C-USA) West Division in each of the next three seasons, including wins in the 2018 and 2020 C-USA championship games.