Signee Q and A: Clark Yarbrough
A key member of one of Stanford's most talented and largest offensive line recruiting classes in the last decade, Clark Yarbrough was sold on the Cardinal early in his recruitment. The four-star standout reflected on his process and discussed his preparation for the next level in a recent discussion with Cardinal Sports Report.
Cardinal Sports Report: I know Stanford has sent you the HULD film and some of those workouts. What were your initial impressions? Anything grab your attention from either the HUDL or the Turley workuouts?
Clark Yarbrough: The offense is awesome. It's truly an NFL level system. That was a little overwhelming when I first was looking at it but I've had it for a couple months now so I'm starting to feel more comfortable and I'm excited for this summer to be able to work with the guys one-on-one and meet with Coach Bloomgren and really learn the offense. I think it's really cool that we're able to see the film early.
In terms of the training, it's going really well. I can tell why people view Coach Turley as the best in the business. His workouts have definitely gotten me in a lot better shape in terms of the running, a ton of core work and body weight stuff along with the Olympic movements. I'm definitely a big fan of the workouts - I can't wait to get into training this summer.
CSR: What are you up to weight-wise at this point?
Yarbrough: Right about 295.
CSR: Stanford's losing three starting offensive linemen from last year and Nick Davidson, who was probably going to be one of their top extra linemen. Have the coaches talked to you about what possibility there would be for early playing time coming in there as a freshman? And what are your goals for next year possibly with some of those jumbo packages?
Yarbrough: They have a really good group in there right now - there are some really talented linemen on the roster. Coach Bloomgren stressed to me just to work as hard as I can this offseason and this summer, do everything I can to prepare myself to be in a position that if they need me I can go and play. That's my mindset right now, just go in and compete - compete as hard as I can, and if I redshirt I redshirt, I'll embrace it and really put the work in my first year. And if I play I'll be ready to go. So I'm ready for both. But I really appreciate Coach Bloomgren telling me that he has faith in me that I could play early, but I have to go in and earn it and really compete hard.
CSR: You did commit pretty early in the process, but with Signing Day being official a few months ago, several months removed from Signing Day, what's the best part about not actually being a recruit anymore?
Yarbrough: There are so many good parts to not being recruited anymore. Definitely a large load was removed from my shoulders when I committed. I ended my recruiting process May of last year when I told Coach Shaw I was coming for sure. It was such a blessing to receive scholarship offers and have schools be in contact, but it's kind of stressful being a high school junior and having to balance not only academics and athletics and my friends but also having to talk to coaches late at night and handle all of the social media stuff. That was a lot at some points. But it's definitely nice to not have to deal with it anymore.
CSR: Did you have a favorite part of the process?
Yarbrough: Probably receiving a scholarship offer from Stanford. That was definitely the high point.
CSR: Did you ever experience any negative recruiting toward Stanford?
Yarbrough: I definitely experienced some negative recruiting from numerous schools. A lot of coaches would say that it's so far away and that my family will never see me play and how it's so different out in California than anything I was ever used to. And the admissions stuff - it's hard, and why would I want to take AP classes when I can just do the normal track and really sit back and enjoy high school? But none of that fazed me. I knew I was willing to put in the work.
CSR: I know you took a lot of trips - what was the most impactful moment for you on any of your college visits?
Yarbrough: The most impactful moment was probably the Junior Day where I got to go out (to Stanford for their second Junior Day of the 2016 recruiting cycle last April) - it was kind of our core group, the first couple of commits who were all out there - Bo Peek, Simi, Curtis, Donald. We were all out there together. That was when Coach Shaw let me know that I had a scholarship there. That was definitely the biggest moment - being on the golf cart, riding around campus and seeing how perfect it was, Meeting the players and staying over with the offensive linemen and realizing these guys are just like me. I had never felt that before at a school where I was going to be surrounded by guys who are going to push me in every way and make me a better person and football player as well as a student. So I think that was the moment where I was like, 'This is the place.' That definitely made an impact on me.
CSR: Did you have a second place school?
Yarbrough: That would be hard to say, because I was really lucky to have some amazing options. I think I definitely felt most at home at Duke and Clemson. I think those are the two schools that really made me feel like a member of their family as a recruit. I think that was really cool. I would also put UVA up there, because Charlottesville will always be a second home to me with all of the family connections. But probably Duke and Clemson were tied or second.
CSR: Knowing what you know now after going through the entire process, what would your advice be to freshman year Clark about getting recruited and how to navigate this whole process?
Yarbrough: I would tell myself to just take a deep breath. Don't stress over the little things. And just because you see your name in print doesn't make you a ball player. I definitely have a respect for ratings and rankings, but none of the that stuff should affect what you do on the field and how you act off the field. I think I let those rankings define me and I definitely regret that. I wish I would have put that out of my mind. But it's kind of hard with all of the social media stuff in my face. But I wish I could tell myself just relax, just enjoy the recruiting process. Don't let it stress you out. And I would tell myself don't be an idiot and pick Stanford. Pick Stanford. You won't regret it.