Taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, linebacker Damone Clark missed the first few months of his rookie campaign after undergoing spinal fusion surgery but played solid football upon his return, recording 47 total tackles and a pair of forced fumbles in his 10 appearances.
And in 2023, the LSU alum had a true breakout season, starting all 17 games for Dan Quinn's defense and leading America's Team with 109 total tackles. But following Quinn's departure, Clark just never got on the same page with Mike Zimmer. And with DeMarvion Overshown and Marist Liufau looking like potential stars, the New Orleans native saw his defensive snap counts diminish significantly in 2024.
With the Cowboys loading up on linebackers during the offseason, Clark honestly looked like a possible cut candidate when camp began last month.
But under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, whose specialty has long been the linebacker position (let's not forget he was the linebackers coach in Dallas for seven seasons), the 25-year-old has looked absolutely fantastic during training camp and was one of the few bright spots for the Cowboys in their 31-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens this past Saturday.
Cowboys LB Damone Clark is thriving under new DC Matt Eberflus
Clark clearly has his confidence back and genuinely believes that the upcoming 2025 campaign could be his best yet. And he's undoubtedly ecstatic to be working with Eberflus, who made Sean Lee a star during his first run in Dallas and did the same with others during his stops with the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears.
"Oh man. Coach Flus, that's a linebacker guru," Clark recently told DallasCowboys.com staff writer Patrik Walker. "You can look at the guys he coached: Sean Lee, Shaq Leonard, and he had Tremaine Edmunds last year. Just look at the different guys he coached. He has his standards, and he's not going to alter his standard. You either rock with it or hit the road.
"Honestly, like I said, he never 'MF' us. It is all about, 'What did you see?' He's all about getting us a step closer to the ball—footwork, small things like that. And that's things that I've worked on and I harped on in the offseason before we went to training camp: film study, footwork, which I can still be better with a lot of it, and I will be better."
Even with Overshown out of the mix for now as he continues to recover from the ACL, PCL, and MCL tears in his right knee, Clark isn't likely to crack the starting lineup, as the three linebacker slots are seemingly reserved for Liufau and new additions Kenneth Murray Jr. and Jack Sanborn.
But he seems to be a lock for the 53-man roster at this point, and if he continues to play the way he did against Baltimore, don't be surprised if he starts stealing some snaps in the early weeks of the regular season.
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