FRISCO, Texas – When Kenny Clark walked through the doors at The Star for the first time last week, one of the first guys he saw was rookie defensive tackle Jay Toia.
It might have been the first time Clark had officially met Toia, but he certainly didn’t need to introduce himself.
“No way, man I’ve seen his picture up on the wall for four years,” Toia said of Clark. “He was an All-American and so those guys are honored up there.”
And ‘there’ would be UCLA, which is proving to be a breeding ground for defensive tackles for the Cowboys.
Not only is Clark, who was traded by the Packers in the Micah Deal deal, a product of UCLA, but he joins two other defensive tackles on the Cowboys who were former Bruins in Osa Odighizuwa and Toia, a seventh-round pick this year.
“It’s cool to be able to play with all those guys,” said Clark, who is entering his 10th year and left UCLA long before Odighizuwa and Toia were on campus. “I walked into the meeting room and Coach (Aaron Whitecotton) was like, ‘Man, this has got to be the first time there has been three UCLA guys in the same room.’ So yeah, that’s dope. It’s cool to have those guys.”
Of the three, Clark is certainly the most accomplished, having played nine years with the Packers and earning three Pro Bowl selections. That certainly got Odighizuwa’s attention when he was a standout for the Bruins.
“They put the NFL guys on the wall at UCLA, so seeing Kenny up there and knowing what type of talent came from UCLA and seeing what’s possible, it’s definitely something that motivated me,” Odighizuwa said. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, I’m trying to get to where he’s at.’ It’s a pretty cool full-circle moment.”
Ironically enough, it’s Clark now getting to where Odighizuwa resides, which is right in the middle of the Cowboys’ defensive line. While Clark wasn’t the biggest part of the Parsons trade, he was definitely not an afterthought. The Cowboys said numerous times that acquiring Clark was the key to making the move with an emphasis on stopping the run.
“I think he’s going to benefit us a lot,” Odighizuwa said of Clark. “Kenny is a smart guy. He’s a baller. And he’s been a baller. So I’m excited to have him here.”
Toia agreed, stating how much he can benefit personally from both of his elder teammates from the same college.
“I’m just excited to learn from him,” Toia said of Clark. “We always looked up to him and Osa, too. He’s been a great player here with the Cowboys. And when you’re playing that position, you definitely know what the guys are doing in the league. It’s cool that we’re all in the same place.”
