Clark out to make his point
without permission. For list info see
Clark out to make his point

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Mike Clark, a 23-year-old junior college transfer student from Ricks College, has won the place kicking job on the University of Houston's football team. Coach Kim Helton apparently is a believer. Clark and fellow punter Jeff Patterson are the first incoming punters or kickers to be awarded scholarships since 1993.

Football runs in the family. Clark's older brother, Greg, is the starting tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. Like Mike, Greg played at Ricks College in Idaho before playing at Stanford. Brigham Young and Stanford also recruited Mike, who is 6-2 and 195 pounds.

In his freshman season at Ricks in 1995, Clark was a second-team All-America punter, averaging 44.5 yards a kick, before leaving to serve a two-year Mormon mission in Chile. Last season, Clark punted for a 41-yard average, kicked 46 of 49 extra points and was 9-of-17 on field goals, including a 53-yarder.

Clark's numbers included four blocked attempts in the season opener and a miss from more than 60 yards. Clark, an all-state soccer player in high school at Centerville, Utah, can effectively punt with either foot in scramble situations because of bad center snaps.