Damone Clark ready to elevate in Year 2 with Dallas Cowboys

PLANO, Texas — Former LSU linebacker Damone Clark‘s road to starting five games as a rookie in the NFL wasn’t easy. The 2022 fifth round pick of the Dallas Cowboys underwent a spinal fusion surgery before he was even drafted.

After the team discovered his herniated disc at the NFL Combine, Dr. Robert Watkins performed the procedure. That went well enough for him to begin his NFL career in October.

“Having guys like Leighton Vander Esch, he had the same injury I had,” Clark told On3 at his private workout with Carlos Whitmire. “Finding out from the Cowboys at the combine and getting drafted by the Cowboys, I felt confident. Everything happens for a reason. It wasn’t a coincidence that they were the ones that told me. Leighton played at a really high level this year. I look to build on this year and play at a high level with him.”

Before he stepped on the field, he felt the nerves. He felt the confidence the coaches had in him, which helped him make 47 total tackles, a tackle for loss and two forced fumbles as a rookie.

“I was nervous. I was wanting to do this since I started playing at five years old,” Clark said. “Obviously, I didn’t have an offseason or anything, but the coaches had confidence in me to go out there vs. the Bears.”

Clark ready to emerge in first full season

After a junior year at LSU that wasn’t up to the expectations, Clark led the SEC and finished second in the country with 135 tackles his senior season. If not for his injury, maybe he ends up higher in the draft.

That said, after getting experience in the NFL, he’s ready to emerge like he did for the Tigers in 2021. He hopes a full offseason of development and training will lead to a similar jump.

“It’s like damn near the same, to be honest with you,” Clark said. “My junior year, that was my first full year starting. Having guys like Devin White and Patrick Queen coming before me, it was a challenge, but I was up for it. My junior year was iffy. My senior year ended up being good, but that’s why I went back to school. Graduated, learned under coach (Blake) Baker and took it on to the NFL.”

Getting that taste of the NFL was critical for him. With the support around him, he’s looking forward to settling in and just playing football.

“I just needed the reps. It’s different levels of football from little league all the way to the NFL, but at the end of the day, that’s still the game that I’ve been playing since I was five years old,” the 6-3, 240-pound linebacker said. “You can’t make it too much. I have great coaches around me. Great guys in the linebacker room. Learning from Leighton, Scottie (linebackers coach Scott McCurley), coach DT (assistant linebackers coach Darian Thompson), coach Pete (quality control coach Pete Ohnegian), different guys like that. Adding to the toolbox that I learned from coach (Dave) Aranda and coach Baker, going out there and applying it.”

Clark looked back on his time in Baton Rouge though as he worked out in the Texas heat. Temperatures on the Plano East High School turf hovered above 100 degrees. After Whitmire and Clark worked out 1-on-1, he recalled the development with LSU.

“LSU built me for this. Having Ed Orgeron built us for this moment. Having hard practices out there on Tuesdays in-season on the Ponderosa, it built me for this. I was ready for it. Obviously, there’s steps you have to take going to the next level, but LSU built me for this. As you can tell, guys steady going to the NFL and keep elevating.”

Clark’s ready for his next step up from NFL rookie to key difference maker — just “keep elevating.”