<p>Will Clark had a hard act to follow at Fremd.</p><p>Last year as a sophomore, Clark was the backup to Vikings quarterback Johnny O'Brien. Now at Northwestern, O'Brien was a three-year starter who piled up 8.395 total yards and 93 touchdowns in his prep career.</p><p>No surprise, O'Brien got virtually all the practice reps. But when he missed a Week 7 game at Barrington with an injury, Clark was pressed into action for his first varsity start.</p><p>Barrington won 23-7 and Clark was 9 of 19 passing for 156 yards. But he learned some valuable lessons that are paying off this season.</p><p>With Clark as the starter this year, Fremd is 4-1. Through the first five games of the season, Clark had thrown for 1,081 yards with three TDs.</p><p>"Ever since that [Barrington loss], I've had … this chip on my shoulder to do a lot better," Clark told the Sun-Times. "And I'd say that my preparation is a lot different now for each game. I feel like last year, sometimes I got off track. But this year I've been very focused and learning a lot of things from the coaches."</p><p>He also picked up plenty from watching O'Brien on and off the field.</p><p>"I learned a lot from him," Clark said. "Like … you have to watch your film. You have to know what the defense is doing at all times. And then in actual game situations — reading the defense and your footwork and everything, I learned a lot from that."</p><p>O'Brien is 6-3 and 200 pounds, 3 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than Clark, so it's no surprise they have different profiles.</p><p>Clark is being used as more of a dual-threat quarterback than O'Brien.</p><p>"He's had some longer runs," Fremd coach Lou Sponsel said of Clark. "He's had some designed runs. Like Week 1, [Lake Zurich was] overshifting to take away some of our stuff in the pass game so we let Will run our zone game into the boundaries.</p><p>"And Johnny could have run, too. We just said, no, we're not running Johnny."</p><p>Meanwhile, Sponsel said Clark is developing as a pocket passer. "But he's still got that dual threat to where he can scramble. He can run at any time, either as a designed quarterback run or he just takes off and runs," Sponsel said.</p><p>Clark is comfortable in either phase of the game.</p><p>"I've always liked to use my feet whenever I get the chance to," he said. "And I also love chucking the ball down the field and making plays doing that."</p><p>Even if he wasn't following in the footsteps of a Power Four recruit, Clark knew he'd be in the spotlight as the starting quarterback for a high-profile program. Win or lose, taking heat or praise, he lets it roll off his back.</p><p>"I always stay away from that," he said of the outside noise. "I don't pay attention to that at all. I always move on from it, next play mentality, next game mentality."</p><p>Similarly, during the school year and the summer, Clark toggles back and forth between two sports: football and baseball. He also played basketball, but gave it up after eighth grade.</p><p>"When it comes to baseball and football, sometimes when I need a break from one of them I always just go to the next," he said.</p><p>For now, though, he's enjoying this football ride.</p>
Dual-threat quarterback Will Clark has kept Fremd on the winning track 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-09-24 14:50:52
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