Mike Clark (defensive end)

Michael Hugh Clark is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for five seasons in the National Football League and United States Football League during the 1980s. Clark played college football for the [Florida Florida Gators football|Gators football|Florida Gators], and thereafter, he played professionally for the Washington Redskins, the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL.

Early life

Clark was born in Dothan, Alabama, in 1959. He attended Graceville High School in Graceville, Florida, where he played high school football for the Graceville Tigers.

College career

Clark accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Doug Dickey and coach Charley Pell's Gators teams from [1977 Florida Gators American football|football team|1977] to 1980. During Clark's senior season in 1980, he was a member of the Gators team that posted the biggest one-year turnaround in the history of NCAA Division I football—from 0–10–1 in 1979 to an 8–4 bowl team in 1980.

Professional career

The Los Angeles Rams selected Clark in the seventh round of the 1981 NFL draft. Clark played a single season for each of the Washington Redskins in, the San Francisco 49ers in, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in. Clark was also a starting defensive end for coach Steve Spurrier's Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL in 1984 and 1985.

Life after football

Clark is retired from professional sports and lives in Tampa, Florida.
He has one daughter.