Harty: The story of Dallas Clark just keeps getting better
IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of the greatest stories during Kirk Ferentz’s coaching era at Iowa added another memorable chapter on Tuesday.
Former NFL and Hawkeye tight end Dallas Clark was back on campus to be honored as the 2016 America Needs Farmers Wall of Honor inductee.
Clark is the fifth recipient of the America Needs Farmers (ANF) Wall of Honor, which salutes former University of Iowa football players who exemplify the tenacity, work ethic, and character of the Iowa farmer. Previous recipients include Casey Wiegmann (2012), Jared DeVries (2013), Bruce Nelson (2014), and Robert Gallery (2015).
Clark’s story is about defying the odds, about being in the right place at the right time and about striving for excellence.
The Livermore native came to Iowa in 1998 as a walk-on linebacker under Hayden Fry and left in 2002 as one of the greatest tight ends in school history.
Clark played 11 seasons in the NFL, including nine with the Indianapolis Colts. In addition to earning All-Pro recognition, Clark also helped the Colts win the 2007 Super Bowl as one of Peyton Manning’s favorite receiving targets.
Clark’s feel-good story is the kind that you probably wouldn’t believe without seeing it unfold right before your eyes.
His latest achievement comes as a result of Clark’s commitment to the ANF campaign, which dates back to the 1985 season when former Iowa coach Hayden Fry launched the campaign to bring attention to the farm crisis that was ravaging the Heartland at the time.
Clark wasn’t raised on a farm like some of the former Hawkeyes who now share a spot with him on the ANF Wall of Honor. But he has friends and relatives who are farmers and admires their work ethic and the role they play in making our country great.
Since retiring from the NFL after the 2012 season, Clark has made farming a key part of his life after football. He purchased a farm that was in the Clark family for more than 100 years and is now custom-farming with a friend, growing grapes and with plans to add other crops.
"I love the lifestyle. I love working and manual labor," Clark said Tuesday. "I love being outside and working the ground. Like any farmer, you have to adapt, adjust, and try to make it work. The whole idea of that type of work attracted me."
The Iowa Farm Bureau and University of Iowa are teaming up to celebrate Iowa’s farmers for the sixth annual ANF Game Day on Saturday when the Iowa football team hosts No. 10 Wisconsin in a nationally televised game that will kick off at 11:01 a.m. inside Kinnick Stadium.
“What’s unique about my situation is I respect and appreciate everything farmers do,’ Clark said. “I don’t have those stories of driving a tractor when I was 8 years old, before driving a car. I don’t have those cool kinds of stories. But what I have is a respect and passion for farming.
“And I’ve enjoyed getting into it. What’s awesome about it is I’ve got great farming friends that I can ask questions. It’s like no big deal to them because it’s like breathing. But to me, it’s like tell me more.”
So many different things had to fall into place for Clark’s story to unfold the way it has since high school.
His older brother played football at Iowa State, but had a frustrating senior season that helped to steer Dallas to the Hawkeyes.
Kirk Ferentz then replaced Fry as the Iowa head coach shortly after the 1998 season. Clark’s ultimate goal was to help on special teams at some point in his career.
Little did he know that switching to tight end would alter the course of his life in a huge way.
Clark was a natural at tight end. He could catch and he could run after the catch. He could block. And he had a gift for making big plays.
He also had a talented team around him at Iowa in 2002 and that’s when Clark’s career really started to soar. He helped Iowa finish 11-2 and undefeated in the Big Ten in 2002, winning the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best collegiate tight end along the way.
He skipped his senior season to enter the NFL, but in some ways Clark never has left the Iowa football program. He joked on Tuesday with the media about how he always wants to be in Iowa City and close to the Iowa program.
But who could blame him?
Clark was good to the Iowa football program and it was good to him at a pivotal time in his life off the field.
Clark came to college under difficult circumstances after losing his mother to a heart attack near the end of his senior year of high school. The Iowa football program became an extended family to Clark and still is to this day and forever.
Clark seemed genuinely thrilled to be speaking to reporters about his Hawkeye legacy because it means so much to him. He enjoys interacting with the current players, but wonders at the age of 37 what they get out of it because of his age.
“What’s so funny about it is you feel like you can relate to these players, but I’m old,” Clark said. “It’s sad to admit that you’re at that point. So you’re not that cool.”
Iowa fans would respectfully disagree, because to them, Clark is the definition of cool.
Kirk Ferentz started his Tuesday press conference by acknowledging Clark’s presence in the room.
“I just wanted to start out by congratulating Dallas on his recognition, so well deserved,” Ferentz said. “I was just back thee negotiating and seeing if we can get a couple snaps out of him this weekend. But I think that might go detected.”
Clark probably would love to suit up for the Hawkeyes again. He said Tuesday that he tries to be in Iowa City as much as his schedule would allow him. He often works out at the Iowa football facility and tries to compete with the current players despite being nearly 20 years older than some of them.
Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle has asked Clark why he still pushes himself so hard.
"Because I’m sick, I guess, in the head," Clark said. "I want to see if I can still keep up with these 19-year olds.
"It’s one of those things where if I pass (any players) in the hall, I always try to leave myself open and I will always say hi and always ask them how school is going and what’s next for you."
The future brings new challenges and new opportunities for Clark, who now uses his celebrity status to raise money and awareness for causes that are close to him.
Clark recently created the Native Fund, a new nonprofit to help Iowans in natural disasters and assist Iowa youth and military veterans. Actor Ashton Kutcher, who grew up near Iowa City and pro golfer and Cedar Rapids native Zach Johnson also were involved with its formation.
The nonprofit held its first ever concert to benefit the fund on Aug. 27 at Kinnick Stadium and was considered a major success. Country music star Blake Shelton served as headline act, while Tucker Beathard, who is the younger brother of Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, also performed during the concert.
Clark also wants to stay involved with football and is working to get his coaching certificate. However, he told reporters on Tuesday that he has no plans to coach at the collegiate level because of the commitment that it would take.
Clark is mostly committed to helping others and to his new passion for farming. He also likes to inspire the Iowa players because it’s his way of giving back to a program that helped change his life.
"There are so many people that helped me get to this,’ Clark said. "You can’t do it by yourself. So if I can pass on any little piece of advice to help them be successful and to help them figures things out, it’s so much harder to be an athlete these days than it was back then."
Clark’s future could take him in a number of directions, but his past always will be the same, and something to celebrate forever.