Day 2 Draft thread

[D-train]

Brock's fav C Logan Jones gone.

[Bil522]

They are picking not trading

[D-train]

Bud Clark!!!!!!!!!!! Never heard his name once!!!!!!!!!! Safety not CB, Edge or G. SH you have to love this one!!

[D-train]

15 picks at TCU.

[Bil522]

Bud was the Safety I wanted...he is better than Kobe.

[Sibelius Hindemith]

188 lbs he's not going to play safety.

[Donn Beach]

Yeah, you guys told me we weren't picking a safety lol. Well it's what you get for winning a SB

[Donn Beach]

Yeah, a 6'0", 188-pound safety...

[HawkandMariner88]

I guess their comfortable with Bradford at Guard unless they use those future picks to move back into the 3rd. Dunker & Pregnon are still out there

[Bil522]

Overview
Hometown: Alexandria, LA
Birthday: May 3, 2002
Age: 24
Jersey: No. 21
High School: Alexandria
Year: Sixth-year senior
A four-year starter at TCU, Clark was a versatile safety in defensive coordinator Andy Avalos’ 4-2-5 base scheme, rotating mostly between one-high and slot looks. He proved to be a ballhawk for the Horned Frogs over the past four seasons, with 35 passes defended and 15 interceptions (four most in school history).

In both coverage and run support, Clark moves with athletic twitch to get where he is going in a hurry. He understands route concepts and flows fast to wherever his instincts lead him. When the ball is in the air, he locates it and flashes the body control to make plays. His energy shows as a run defender, as well, although lackluster finishing strength will be more noticeable versus NFL ball carriers.

Dane’s takeaway
Dane Brugler Illustration
Clark is overly responsive in coverage, but he brings range and ball skills to the back end of the defense and makes more plays than he misses. He has field-safety starting potential and can hold up in nickel.

Combine stats
Hover any column header to see its definition.

Note: Combine: Limited workout (choice).

Strengths
Athletic frame with defined lean bulk and room to add more
Fluid mover — shows minimal lag in his coverage transitions
Ranges over the top and stays on high alert from nickel or middle-field perch
Coverage/situational awareness took a big jump under TCU D-coordinator Andy Avalos
Looks like a wide receiver when comfortably adjusting to the football mid-air
Weaknesses
Lean limbed — looks more like a cornerback than a safety
Aggressively responds to quarterback pumps and can be manipulated
Takes chances undercutting routes with shallow angles (allowed four coverage touchdowns in 2025)
Flagged four times for pass interference in 2025
Likes to show off high-flying ball skills, which leads to some misses
More of a grab-and-pull-down tackler
Sidelined for at least one game because of injury in four of past five seasons (combined 14 games missed)
College stats
Hover any column header to see its definition.

2020 Enrolled June 2020; pandemic-shortened season
2021 Missed final eight games (injury)
2022 Honorable Mention All-Big 12; led team in INT; 41-yard INT TD; missed first three games (injury)
2023 Led team in INT; team captain
2024 Second Team All-Big 12; led team in INT; blocked PAT; team captain; missed one game (injury)
2025 Second Team All-Big 12; led team in PD; 25-yard INT TD; missed two games (injury)
Background
Ja’Darius “Bud” Clark, the oldest of three children in his family, grew up in central Louisiana with his mother (Katoya Flowers). He says he developed his work ethic from his mother, who worked multiple jobs, including as a mechanic and at a funeral home (Clark: “She and I are the exact same person.”). Clark was a talented baseball player throughout childhood before football took over as his go-to sport. He started playing little league football at age 9 and patterned his game after Kam Chancellor and Grant Delpit. Clark has a 3-year-old son (Kenzo) with his fiancée (Nesha Cooper).

Clark attended Alexandria Senior High School, where he was a three-sport letterman. He wanted to play wide receiver as a freshman but saw an opportunity at cornerback and safety, and he made an immediate impact on varsity (42 tackles, one forced fumble and one interception). As a sophomore, Clark had another productive season in the secondary and added a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. As a junior in 2018, he filled in at quarterback and helped Alexandria to a 10-win season, earning first-team all-state honors on defense (54 tackles and four interceptions). Clark again earned all-state honors as a senior in 2019 and helped Alexandria to another 10-win season. He pitched and played center field on the Alexandria baseball team and ran track (relays and jumps), setting a personal best of 23 feet 1.75 inches in the long jump. Despite having very little experience, Clark joined the basketball team as a senior and helped Alexandria to a 32-7 record and the 2019-20 state championship, the first in school history.

A four-star recruit, Clark was the 31st-ranked safety in the 2020 class and the No. 13 recruit in Louisiana. He picked up his first offer after his sophomore season, from FCS Grambling State. A few months later, Clark added his first FBS offers (LSU, Louisiana and Tulane). He continued to accumulate offers throughout his junior year and narrowed his final choice to Kansas, LSU, Ole Miss, TCU and Virginia. Clark committed in April 2019 to Virginia but flipped to TCU on signing day. He was the eighth-ranked recruit in former head coach Gary Patterson’s 2020 class (the same class as Quentin Johnston and Savion Williams). Clark took advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to Fort Worth for his sixth season in 2025.

He graduated with a degree from TCU and is working toward his master’s degree. Clark accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl.