Hard Work & Perseverance: Desmond Clark’s Journey Continues to Inspire
1/12/2023 8:00:00 AM | Football
Desmond Clark is a member of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame and he was honored as the Deacs ACC Legend in 2021.
Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer Desmond Clark was recognized as the Deacs' 2021 ACC Legend just over a year ago and that special weekend for him and his family began with the ACC Night of Legends.
"That was a good weekend," Clark said. "I didn't know the ACC had an awards show and that it would be televised. It was really done nicely. To be in the same room as so many of the peers I played with in college and also in the professional ranks — some of these guys I played against in high school. It was a really special event to be in the same room and in that class of people.
"I was so proud. It turned out to be great, because Wake Forest was playing in that game. It was a couple of good days of just taking it all in. You get caught up in the day-to-day of what you're doing, and I don't take perspective often, but this gave me a chance to look back and appreciate some of the accomplishments."
Clark finished his Wake Forest career as the all-time leader in career receptions (216), a mark that was eventually surpassed by Michael Campanaro 15 years later (229). Clark is still second on that list and is also second in program history with 2,834 receiving yards, trailing just Ricky Proehl (2,949). Selected as a tight end in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, Clark finished his NFL career with an eight-year stint with the Chicago Bears — playing in 162 career games, starting 105 and finishing with 323 career receptions for 3,591 yards and 27 touchdowns.
He's since written the book "Principles of Winning: 5 Keys to Create a Standard of Excellence" and become a successful motivational speaker.
"It's going well," Clark said. "When I first started, at the end of 2019 I made the decision to go with my passion and what I felt like I could offer value with. That's when I wrote my book. When I was getting ready to release it, that's when the pandemic started."
"During the summer or 2020, everybody started figuring out how to work around this by working virtually more. That's when it started to pick up for me. I started having two-to-three speaking engagements a month. Nobody really knew how to deal with this, and everyone needed that inspirational talk to keep going."
Clark shares in his book and in his speeches important leadership qualities that he learned from coaches and mentors he's worked with his entire life.
"It comes from everything that I've experienced," he explained. "I try to be cognizant of what's going on around me and how it affects me as well as everybody else. I know a large part of my story comes from my early childhood days and trying to get through that period. I could have gone either way, but I chose the right direction. That led me to playing sports at a higher level, I think.
"Being in sports, and being around my middle school and high school coaches, then getting to college under Coach (Jim) Caldwell then getting to the league to play under Lovie Smith — I learned so much during those times about leadership."
Spending his college and professional career almost always as an underdog helped Clark dig a little deeper for motivation.
"I always had to go out there and earn respect," Clark said. "I got to the league to play tight end, a position I'd never played. However, I still came out, got drafted and made it for 12 years. How did that stuff happen, because it doesn't happen by accident?"
"That was a good weekend," Clark said. "I didn't know the ACC had an awards show and that it would be televised. It was really done nicely. To be in the same room as so many of the peers I played with in college and also in the professional ranks — some of these guys I played against in high school. It was a really special event to be in the same room and in that class of people.
"I was so proud. It turned out to be great, because Wake Forest was playing in that game. It was a couple of good days of just taking it all in. You get caught up in the day-to-day of what you're doing, and I don't take perspective often, but this gave me a chance to look back and appreciate some of the accomplishments."
Clark finished his Wake Forest career as the all-time leader in career receptions (216), a mark that was eventually surpassed by Michael Campanaro 15 years later (229). Clark is still second on that list and is also second in program history with 2,834 receiving yards, trailing just Ricky Proehl (2,949). Selected as a tight end in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, Clark finished his NFL career with an eight-year stint with the Chicago Bears — playing in 162 career games, starting 105 and finishing with 323 career receptions for 3,591 yards and 27 touchdowns.
He's since written the book "Principles of Winning: 5 Keys to Create a Standard of Excellence" and become a successful motivational speaker.
"It's going well," Clark said. "When I first started, at the end of 2019 I made the decision to go with my passion and what I felt like I could offer value with. That's when I wrote my book. When I was getting ready to release it, that's when the pandemic started."
"During the summer or 2020, everybody started figuring out how to work around this by working virtually more. That's when it started to pick up for me. I started having two-to-three speaking engagements a month. Nobody really knew how to deal with this, and everyone needed that inspirational talk to keep going."
Clark shares in his book and in his speeches important leadership qualities that he learned from coaches and mentors he's worked with his entire life.
"It comes from everything that I've experienced," he explained. "I try to be cognizant of what's going on around me and how it affects me as well as everybody else. I know a large part of my story comes from my early childhood days and trying to get through that period. I could have gone either way, but I chose the right direction. That led me to playing sports at a higher level, I think.
"Being in sports, and being around my middle school and high school coaches, then getting to college under Coach (Jim) Caldwell then getting to the league to play under Lovie Smith — I learned so much during those times about leadership."
Spending his college and professional career almost always as an underdog helped Clark dig a little deeper for motivation.
"I always had to go out there and earn respect," Clark said. "I got to the league to play tight end, a position I'd never played. However, I still came out, got drafted and made it for 12 years. How did that stuff happen, because it doesn't happen by accident?"
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