State College wideout Brandon Clark accepts preferred walk-on spot at Penn State

Little Lions wide receiver Brandon Clark won’t have to travel far to continue his football career.

Clark was offered a preferred walk-on spot Wednesday at Penn State — and the State College senior said there’s no way he’s turning it down.

“I’m going to take it,” Clark said Wednesday night, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it after practice at Memorial Field. “I always wanted to go to Penn State. It was my dream to go there.”

Clark grew up watching the Nittany Lions with his father, Bruce, a Penn State letterman and 1979 consensus All-American at defensive tackle. Clark said he and his father go to most home games at Beaver Stadium. Next year, Clark will have an opportunity to move from the bleachers to the sidelines as a Nittany Lion himself.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound wide receiver — who’s tallied 673 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in three-plus years at State High — said he didn’t receive offers from FCS schools. Programs wanted him to come take a look, but none showed the interest Penn State did.

Clark attended a Penn State camp in June, and Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Brent Pry delivered the good news on Wednesday: Pry called State College head coach Matt Lintal, who passed the phone off to Clark.

At the end of the school day, Clark realized he’d be a Nittany Lion. He realized his dream would come true, and his coaches couldn’t have been more pleased. Lintal smiled wide when Clark jogged over to answer a few questions about it after practice, and wide receivers coach Joe Nastasi expressed the same happiness.

Nastasi also believes Clark can be more than a walk-on in the future.

“I’m proud of him, and I know he’s really excited about it,” said Nastasi, a former Penn State wideout from 1995-98. “I have all the confidence in the world that he’ll go in there, work hard and become a scholarship player one day.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 8:07 PM with the headline "State College wideout Brandon Clark accepts preferred walk-on spot at Penn State."