Beating the Odds

What are the odds?

Desmond Clark laughs, because even with his brand-spanking-new Wake Forest diploma, he couldn't begin to calculate the improbability of what has happened.
When Clark was selected by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft, he was a long shot to make the team and knew that he would have to learn a new position to do so.
Ten seasons later, Clark is a fixture at tight end for the Chicago Bears and continues to climb the ranks among the top tight ends in the storied franchise's history.
It's a remarkable success story that has a few other interesting twists, and it's a story that still amazes Clark.
"Coming into the league, if you would have asked me in '99 if I thought I would play 10 years, I would have said 'No way,' " Clark said in a telephone interview from Chicago earlier this week. "I wouldn't have believed it. I didn't know if I was going to make it that first year, let alone 10 years. So to have the kind of career I've had and to still be playing, I'm as shocked as anyone.
"But I'm very fortunate. I've been blessed and I'm in a great situation."
Clark and the Bears will play the Carolina Panthers at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Clark was a wide receiver at Wake Forest and was good enough to become the ACC's career receptions leader with 216, a record that still stands. Drafted as a tight end because of his 6-3, 245-pound frame, he played three seasons in Denver and one in Miami before signing with the Bears as a free agent in 2003.
During the past six seasons, he has become a staple of the Chicago offense. He has missed two games in that span, and counting two catches in the Bears' 29-13 upset win at Indianapolis last week, he has caught 183 passes, which ranks third in franchise history among Bears tight ends. He also ranks third in career yardage for a Bears tight end and second in touchdowns.
He has started every game since late in the 2004 season. By catching 44 passes last season and 45 the year before, he became the first Bears tight end since Mike Ditka in 1963-64 to have back-to-back 40-catch seasons. He has also led all NFL tight ends during the past two years in average yards per catch, at 13.2.
He's one of 10 active NFL tight ends with more than 3,000 career receiving yards.
"He has been very reliable over the years," Coach Lovie Smith said, also by telephone. "He's just a real pro who shows up every day. He is a pro on and off the football field. He's a complete tight end. He can block, he's a good in-line blocker. In the passing game, you can split him out. He is just a dependable blocker and a big part of our offense, as you can tell."
Before Clark went to the Bears, his career was at a crossroads. He started the 2002 season with Denver but dislocated a forearm in training camp and was waived with an injury settlement. He signed with the Dolphins later that season and played in the final 11 games but caught two passes.
The key for all NFL tight ends is finding the right system to match their talents, and that's what happened once Clark joined the Bears. Chicago might be the place where receivers go to die, if you believe Muhsin Muhammad, but Clark has proven that tight ends who can block and catch can thrive.
"I think that's been the key," Clark said. "I'm a well-rounded tight end, and I've been able to stick around because I can block and catch. There are teams around the league that want their tight ends to be receivers. There are teams that want their tight ends to be run blockers. Here they have always wanted tight ends who can catch and block."
Clark's story these days isn't merely about football.
In May, 10 years after leaving Wake Forest, he completed his courses and received his degree in communications. It was something that had dogged him for years, and he made the decision to finish up and get his diploma.

Again he laughs about another long shot in the odds department. When he walked The Quad and received his diploma, he did so in the same graduating class as the player who broke his Wake Forest single-season receptions record last year — Kenny Moore.
That's fine with Clark. He has enjoyed watching the Wake Forest program rise under Coach Jim Grobe, and he marvels at the state of the program now, including the renovations to BB&T Field. The Deacons were 12-32 in Clark's four seasons.
"It's a different football program," Clark said. "It's a program that has earned respect with going to the Orange Bowl two years ago and another bowl again last year. When I left, we had the worst winning percentage in the nation, and now we are looked at as a legitimate football program. I'm so proud of what they've done. It used to be that other players would always brag about their school's success, and I wasn't able to do that. That's not the case any more."

John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.