Confident Clark: Riders Centre Reflects On Recovery, Return To O-Line After 15 Weeks

Words by Daniella Ponticelli 

Dan Clark has fourteen years of CFL experience, but even the veteran centre had rookie nerves returning to the offensive line 15 weeks after injury.

“I felt like it was 2009 all over again. I had major anxiety the whole time and was just worried about if I could even get close to where I was before,” Clark said after practice Monday.

“Then the first snap happened and it was nice to get back out there and communicate and be able to just get back in the rhythm being with the guys.”

Clark, who has only played professionally for his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders, suffered a broken fibula and shifted ankle in the final minutes of the team’s Week 2 tilt in Edmonton on June 18, 2022.

Family, friends and fans watched as Clark was carted off, knowing it wouldn’t be a quick return.

“Everybody reached out and felt so terrible for me. But I just kept in my mind I survived a major car accident being ejected from a vehicle. This isn’t going to be nothing,” he said, referring to a vehicle rollover in May 2019.

“Just control what you can control, and you know, days are going to suck, but how can you power through those days and be able to turn it into a positive?”

Clark returned to the lineup in Week 17, on the road for the team’s third-and-final regular season game against the No. 1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

While the Riders fell 31-13, the offensive line was more unified — not allowing a single quarterback sack for the first time since Week 1. For his efforts, Rider Nation voted Clark the player of the game.  

“I thought the offensive line played tremendously well against a very tough Winnipeg defence and gave me time to make plays and make reads down the field,” Fajardo said Monday.

“To have (Clark) back in the lineup, it gave us a lot of confidence.”

Clark’s football IQ and leadership in the trenches was noticeably missed during his 15-week rehab.  

Saskatchewan Roughriders centre Dan Clark communicates with fellow offensive linemen Evan Johnson (right) and Logan Ferland (left) during the West Semi-Final at Mosaic Stadium on Nov. 28, 2021.
“Every day it made me sick to my stomach to have the guys out there and not be out there with them, no matter win or loss. But at that point, it’s just what can you do to help the guys in that situation?” he said.

The 34-year-old did what was within his control: listening to his trainers and putting in the work to earn his spot on the depth chart.

“I walk into this building every single day, whether I’m healthy or not, expecting to get cut. What have I done today to keep my job? That kind of mentality,” he said.

Clark became even more involved with the team because he couldn’t be on the field. He studied more film, provided one-on-one feedback and helped on the sidelines at every home game.

“Every meeting, he’s always got something to add. Whether it’s been a guy that he’s seen in the league a long time that we’re going against, things he’s seen in film here and there,” said offensive lineman, Logan Ferland.

“Each one of us says, ‘Alpha, my alpha.’ That’s Dan. So he really brings confidence to the group. He knows exactly what he’s calling each and every scenario.”

Despite having experience with lengthy physical rehabs, Clark said this recent stretch felt the longest.

Week after week of the exact same training exercises, some days making progress while others seeing setbacks, until finally approaching an end date. All while the team rode the highs and lows of the 2022 regular season.

As fate would have it, Clark wouldn’t go through his recovery alone.

In the game after his injury, Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver Shaq Evans broke his leg. The two leaned on each other to get through the hard days.

“We had our name tags over top of our training stall. So, it was just the fun that we could have,” said Clark, who also took Evan’s speedier return to the field as a challenge.

“You look at a guy like Shaq, who broke his leg a week after me, and he’s already doing different things than I was doing,” Clark said. “It was competitive for me, and it also allowed me to keep him mentally sharp.”

A proud father and husband, Clark said his greatest support came from his family. 

“I owe everything to my family. They keep me in it. My wife, Kayla, she’s been the best driver I could ever ask for. My son and daughter were the best two nurses that I’ve ever had,” he said. 

“You know, it’s been a whirlwind. But here we are today, going into Hamilton.”

Friday’s Week 18 tilt against the Tiger-Cats (4-10) has big implications for the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-9), a team looking to secure an eastern crossover spot in the playoffs.

The Riders visit the Ti-Cats at Tim Hortons Field on Oct. 7. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. CST