Ryan Clark makes his feelings known on son Jordan going undrafted

Ryan Clark's son, Jordan Clark, spent six seasons at the collegiate level. The lockdown cornerback featured for the Arizona State Sun Devils in five of those seasons and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the sixth and final season.

However, despite helping the Fighting Irish to a college football national championship game appearance, Clark went undrafted in the 2025 NFL draft. This occurred 23 drafts after his father suffered the same fate.

So, months after his son went undrafted, Ryan has made his feelings about his son's undrafted status known. On Wednesday's edition of the Green Light with Chris Long, the one-time Pro Bowler said,

"I know what it's like to be a rookie undrafted free agent. You know, even though you know Aaron Glenn is like, once you hear you're going to get a chance to compete all these things, like, it's still that pressure on him."

He added,

"I know exactly what that feels like. And so when you have a bad day, it almost feels like a bad month, because you're so worried about, well, will they think I'm not good enough? Will they go back to this? This is why I wasn't drafted.

"And so it's been really cool to watch him process it, man, to watch him work and to watch his confidence grow, as it did throughout the offseason.”

Ryan Clark can relate to his son's predicament, as he went undrafted in the 2002 NFL Draft despite being a key contributor to the LSU Tigers. The older Clark didn't let his predicament define him as he enjoyed a 13-year professional football career that included such highs as a Super Bowl and Pro Bowl nod.

What's next for Ryan Clark's son, Jordan Clark?

Jordan Clark signed a deal with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent shortly after the draft. The Arizona State Sun Devils and Notre Dame Fighting Irish product will start his NFL career with Jets head coach Aaron Glenn closely monitoring his progress.

Getting on a professional team is a laudable feat, but the work has only just begun for Ryan Clark's son. He needs to compete with Michael Carter II and Isaiah Oliver for the nickelback role in the Jets secondary.

Carter is the current favorite for the role entering the 2025 regular season. Carter has been with the Jets since 2021, and he's shown signs of improvement playing on one of the league's most feared defenses.

Oliver is next in the nickelback role, and he'll look to starve off competition from Clark to maintain his spot as a priority backup. Oliver has been with the Jets since 2024, having enjoyed stints in Atlanta and San Francisco before settling down in New York.

Clark will have the opportunity to showcase his talents in training camp and the preseason. He'll look to show the other 31 teams that they're missing after passing up on him in this year's draft.