After five seasons leading the Appalachian State football program, Shawn Clark is embracing a fresh start in Orlando.
The former Mountaineers head coach is now Scott Frost's offensive line coach at UCF, and has spent this spring getting acquainted with his new surroundings and evaluating his talent on the roster.
We caught up with Clark on Friday night following UCF's open practice. The Knights are entering the final stretch of spring with just three days remaining.
"I'm really proud of our players and the way they've worked," Clark said. "They came to work every single day with a great attitude and give us a lot of great effort. Again, we have to improve on our execution part of everything.
"But again, our goal is to get the five, seven, eight kids ready who are going to play. We haven't set a depth chart yet, so we've been rolling guys in. We have a green, yellow and gold group. We're going to make sure we get the best five come August. The good thing is we have a lot of time before our first game."
They've been rotating players in and out of the groups, working players in different spots.
"We have a lot of work to do, for sure. But again, it goes back to base fundamentals. That's something we take pride in in our unit, to be fundamentally sound. I think we have the right attitude. They come to work every single day. They're great in meetings, great in walk-throughs.
"And some of that's progressing on the field right now. There's some days you think, man, we could be pretty good. And other days, we have to go back to work. The good thing is we have three more days of practice. I wish we were starting right now from spring ball number one. But we're not.
"But again, throughout the offseason and through OTAs, we'll have a better chance to evaluate and give ourselves the best chance to play the best five."
The mainstay on UCF's offensive line has been Paul Rubelt, who has been with the program since 2020. Last season was his first as a full-time starter, doing so at right tackle.
"I'm proud of Paul, the way he represents this university and our football program," Clark said. "He takes a lot of pride in the way he plays. You can tell that by the way he is a leader in our group, a leader on our football team. He's the guy that our players look up to for advice and look forward to giving the extra pep talk, if you will.
"But again, he's done a great job. He's been here for like six years now, I believe.
"I've never coached a guy who's 6-11, so I'm still trying to get used to that as well. He's done a lot of great things. There's a lot more improvement and we're seeing those things on tape right now."
During the recent open practice, Rubelt was spotted playing left tackle. Is is it possible he could switch sides?
"We have to find the best five, so he's going both left and right throughout practice. He's played more left the last couple days. The last three he'll play some more right. Just to give us the best feel of where he fits our offensive scheme. We'll go back and forth and see what happens.
Clark spoke of the center competition, which includes Carter Miller and Cameron Kinnie. Miller is a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe where he earned All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention honors. Kinnie has been with the UCF program since 2022 and was UCF's backup center last season. Redshirt freshman Waltclaire Flynn is also in the mix.
"Every position is open right now," Clark said. "Again, we've have three good centers with Carter and Cam Kinnie. And Walt's doing a great job as well. We don't have a depth chart. We're charting our plays. We grade every single rep we do in practice. We show our players. We're very honest with our players up front. So I think that they appreciate that, the honesty of what they gotta improve on and where they stand."
What have been the biggest strides made this spring?
"That's an open-ended question," Clark said. "Some days you think we're better in run blocking. Some days you're in pass blocking. But I think we're doing a better job in our run game right now. But there's a lot more room for improvement. We have to improve on a lot of things.
"But just the way they come together, the way they're a great unit for this team. And again, it's all units working on one goal. And that's to win and give us the best chance to be successful in the upcoming season."
Clark said they've had false start issues at times, which is something they're working to improve.
How is the overall chemistry?
"I think it's set from the head coach," Clark said. "The head coach sets the vision of the program. The assistant coach has got to follow what he leads. I think the chemistry is coming along. Again, they're having a lot of fun. Both sides of the ball, they're having a lot of fun."
Clark says he's a proponent of rotating players on the line during games. Some coaches will roll with a starting five for the entire game.
"It depends on what we have," he said. "And we're still trying to evaluate that. In a perfect world, eight players. I'd like to play a third tackle, a third guard, and another center as well. But whoever's playing the best in the fourth quarter, we'll go with them.
"But that would be a perfect rotation. The world's not perfect. But we're going to find out in the next three days. And then we'll kind of have something set as we're going into the offseason. And then evaluate again come fall camp."
What did he like from Friday night's practice?
"We have a lot to work on. Again, I was impressed when they came out and started practice early. I think they came out with their hair on fire.
"And we're doing some really good things in the run game, protect the quarterback at times very well. As it went on, things got a little sloppier. But that's spring practice.
"Again, we're getting a lot of looks from our defense. We're playing against a very good defense right now.
"But again, I like the group. I like the team. I like the effort we have. There's great energy out there. So it's going to be a lot of fun this year."
How has he developed chemistry with Scott Frost?
"It's great. Coach Frost sets the direction of the program. And it's our job as assistant coaches to show what he does. I think if every assistant coach was a head coach, one time in their career, they'd understand more of what to do. And that's something that I'm blessed to have been a head coach before and to know what it's like to perform as the head coach. I mean, our job as (assistant) coaches is to tell the truth and find solutions and keep things off his desk.
"I'm very thankful for Coach Frost for the opportunity and I look forward to the offseason and this upcoming season."
Guards Keegan Smith and Jabari Brooks are another pair of returnees who didn't play as much under the previous staff, but appear to be more in the mix this spring.
"Keegan's done a really good job," Clark said. "He's got a lot more room for improvement. Like you mentioned, he hasn't played much at UCF. But again, I like how he's working. I like how he's dealing with that group. Again, when he's in there with that group, he's doing very well.
"So again, time will tell. But I really like the direction he's going. He's improving every single day. We look forward to big things for Keegan this year."
Clark wanted the players to know they've have a clean slate.
"I think we were very honest when we came to the program, our first team meeting, our first position meeting, that we're going to play the best five guys. It doesn't matter if you've been here one year or six years, whatever it may be, that everyone gets their fair opportunity. I think that's our job as coaches to go there and evaluate.
"Like I mentioned, we grade every single rep throughout practice. And again, I think that's the beauty of it. They know they have a legitimate chance of playing this year and they're taking the opportunity and running with it. So there are some guys stepping up. We wish they were further ahead than what they were. But we'll go on and see what happens after tonight's scrimmage and the next three practices."
