Kenny Clark: 'I want to hold that trophy'
We visit with the man in the middle. Here's the written transcript, from Clark reuniting with a Dad who was locked up 19 years to why he believes this Packers team is special.
We’ve been tracking the life of Kenny Clark here at Go Long for a while now, from his incarcerated father to his plans to go down as one of the best ever.
So on our most recent trip to Green Bay, Wisc. — as Clark embarks on another playoff push — we visited with the defensive tackle again.
You can listen to our conversation here if you’d like:
The written Q&A is below.
Thank you for reading and listening, everyone.
The last time we were hanging out, you’re living at a different place, right? You’re in De Pere. So now you’ve got this big house (in Green Bay). You’ve got the big contract. Your Dad’s out of prison. You didn’t know at the time that would happen?
Clark: No, I didn’t.
So your life has to feel like it’s all coming together here in the best possible ways. Another little girl on the way.
Clark: It really is. My life has been great. I can’t ask for much more. It’s definitely been a long, long journey with everything. With family, with football, with everything. It’s been awesome. So I’m just appreciative for everything, you know what I'm saying? That’s the only thing you can be. I didn’t think my Dad was ever getting out. If he did, I didn’t think he was getting out this soon.
So get us up to speed on that then first. When did things start to turn? When did it become a possibility?
Clark: Really, just last year. It was just a possibility that he was able to, and I mean he’s been doing all the right things in there, too. He graduated in there. He’s been working in there since he’s been there. So, it is been cool. He’s been doing that for a long time. He got the opportunity to get out and they ended up granting him out, and that was dope.
He graduated?
Clark: Yeah, he got a diploma in there. He did a lot of community service. We always gave back to the prisons and stuff. Later on, my Dad, in a sense — they used to have family visits and stuff like that — so we used donate TVs and stuff that they can use while the other inmates are having family visits. You can donate stuff to them so they can have family stuff to have fun.
When we were last hanging out, how hopeful were you then that this would even happen?
Clark: I always had faith. We always prayed about it, so I always thought there was a chance. But it’s hard. It’s hard to keep doing it when he goes to court all the time and they deny him or he tries to apply for something and they deny him. They deny him. They deny him. So when they do accept it, it’s like, “Damn, is this even real?” You don’t want to believe it. It’s just so much that can go wrong with it. We don’t know. You just never know. For him to be out, I was like, “Man, this is crazy. This is craziest thing.” I promise you. I never expected it, though.
So there’s part of you thinking this is not going to happen?
Clark: Yeah, I mean I feel like at times you get that feeling. What did they give him — 55 to life? So you don’t know. You don’t know. My life is going on, I’m having kids. I’m playing football, so I only get a chance half of the year to go really go see him. A lot of the time I’m working out. So it was less and less, I was really getting a chance to really go see him. I was hoping that he’d get out. And really honestly, it was for my Mom too. My Mom is so strong and she dedicated her whole life to my Dad, honestly. She’s different. She’s different. Whatever it is, she’s just different because for her to stay as strong as she did? For her to stick it out with him and do all that? It’s unheard of — for 19 years — to do something like that. For 19 years, you’re going up there almost every week to go see your husband and going through so many different prisons, so many different personalities with the cops. And for you to be able to come out of that and have your husband back, that’s what I really wanted it for — for sure.
Where were the prisons then and how far was she?
Clark: So when he first went to prison in Calipatria, that was when we lived in San Bernardino. So it was probably 2 ½ hours. And then he went to Ironwood, which was right down the street or right next door. That was two hours. We ended up getting a little mini shack out there because we were there so much as kids and it was just a one bedroom. We used to always stay in there. And then as we got older, he moved to a Level 2 prison in San Luis Obispo and that’s where he was at when he got released. And that was three or four hours away from us with traffic. My Mom used to fly there at times. So it got tougher and tougher being able to commute. Because you want him in a better prison, but he was moving farther away. So yeah, it was tough. It was tough for sure.
You’ve even said yourself, when we were talking before, that you never really asked him about what happened that day, but you believed him. You believed in his innocence that he didn't commit this murder. That has to be pretty strong, too, through this all.
Clark: Yeah, for sure.
And he never wavered with his innocence?
Clark: No. No. No, he never wavered. And I’m happy that we got a chance to really see the good come out of that. See somebody doing the right thing and sticking to that. Staying strong, sticking to that and ended up getting granted.
You could be resentful, pissed. This is 19 years that you didn’t have your Dad with you for something he didn’t do. There could be anger in everybody’s hearts.
Clark: It was a lot. The thing though, my Dad always says, “I’m so blessed.” It really calmed him down. Because he was a different person. Back then, he was a different person and he just started understanding the value of family. It’s crazy, but jail was probably the best thing for him honestly. And that’s crazy. But he came out of there and he understands the whole value of family and what it means to be a Dad, what it means to be a husband, what life means. Forget the family — just loving yourself. Wanting better for yourself and loving yourself and not putting yourself in situations to where you got to be away from your family. Man, it’s amazing and they got a lot of grandkids. I got a lot of nieces and nephews and then I got my daughter. So just watching them being able to grow up together and them actually having — I didn’t have two grandparents. Not on my Mom’s side, not on my Dad’s side. I never had two grandparents. For my daughters and for my nephews to see a couple still together, that’s what they are going to grow up to see. A married couple.
“Til death do us part.” Your Mom and Dad took that to a different level.
Clark: Exactly. And that’s how it’s supposed to be. There are so many times in our community or just in life that our Dad’s not here. I’ve got a lot of friends that I grew up like that. A lot of their Dads aren’t here. So for my Dad to be here and be able to do that, that’s so cool to me. For the kids, for myself. I get a chance to talk to my Dad about stuff that I never really got a chance to talk to him about.
What are you catching up on?
Clark: Just family. The history of our family. There’s so many things that happened in our family — or why things the way it was? — that I never knew about. Or things I never thought I could talk about it in the prison that I could talk about outside in a safe space. I get a chance to talk to my Dad and have a real conversation with him. And I think that’s so cool because I never really got that.
And then him getting to watch you live (Week 1 in 2023) had to have been a seminal moment in your life. What was that really like the first time he gets to watch you?
Clark: It was huge, man. It was in Chicago. It was a blessing. It’s a moment I’ll never forget. The team gave me a game ball after the game. I was captain of the game. We had a really good game. We won that game and it was huge, man. That was my first time. That was the first time him seeing me play since I was nine years old. It’s crazy.
Where was he sitting in? How was he taking it in?
Clark: They were sitting right in the first section and, man, all you could do is cry. There have been so many situations. I remember we had the playoff game. I had him on the field before the game and he said after I left that he couldn’t do nothing but cry. Taking it all in. I can only imagine for him. He never thought he’d even be — just our dynamics of our family — I know he never thought he’d be close to the NFL or doing something that has anything to do with this level of football or level of anything. So for him to experience that? For both of my parents, my whole family? It’s huge. Its huge for our history of our family. It’s showing us a different way and showing us we actually are something. You can love yourself and do something that’s productive to get you out of any kind of situation no matter what the job is. No matter what you’re making. It’s. huge for us.
So what’s the relationship like now? How often do you guys talk? Is he coming out to games?
Clark: Yeah, he comes out to games. As long as his parole allows him to, he’s here. He probably gets here for seven, eight games. He’s here a lot. Probably more than that. So yeah, he’s here a lot of the time. He loves it. He loves it. He takes it in every time.
You’ve been in the league for a decade. Getting your Dad out has to put wind in the sails. A surge. Because you’re still playing at such a high level. How does it help you as a player to have your Dad out?
Clark: I mean part of that definitely gave me extra motivation. Definitely. I was just proud to have him out. The competitive part, I am competitive. I love to compete. This is what I’ve been doing since I was a kid. So I want to show him, “This is what I built over here.” All the time you’ve been gone. All the time he’s been gone, I’ve been building this since he put me in there. Putting in the work and just showing him regardless of the circumstances or whatever situation may be my parents, they raised a hell of a kid. Just trying to just prove that every day.
You look around this house, you’ve got to shake your head. You’ve got one beautiful girl, another on the way. Raising the family you always wanted to — do you just kind of pinch yourself how life is coming together?
Clark: Sometimes I feel like I don’t do it enough. Take a deep breath and just look at everything. But it’s dope. It’s always dope when you take a look back and you’re like, “Man, I’ve done a lot of things.” Helping a lot of people. Everything man. All the stuff I’ve been through in my life, it is been a journey. It’s been a journey. It’s still going and it’s crazy. It’s amazing how I still feel like there’s so much more to get. It’s crazy. I don’t know why I was so built this way, but I’m just thankful that God blessed me with that. I always feel like there’s more to obtain, so much more that I can’t reach.
The Super Bowl?
Clark: Yeah, the Super Bowl for sure. All Pro. Everything, man. I truly believe that. I’ll keep working until I do all that type of stuff.
You’re on the youngest team in the NFL back-to-back years. You’re the elder statesman at this point. What’s it like to just see the roster change so much — Aaron to Jordan — and now you’re the vet in the room that has been through everything. Have you organically taken on more of a leadership role with the whole team?
Clark: Definitely. It’s amazing to see. Because I came in young. And not knowing nothing. And now I get a chance to just show these guys the way and just show them how to be a pro, show them how to just mentally break this game down, show ‘em what to do outside of the field to get to where they’re trying to get to. I take pride in doing that. I love doing that for my teammates and it’s been cool. I really enjoy helping those guys out because I understand where they’re at and I’ve been there before. I wanted something so bad, trying to figure out how I need to get there.
So what else is going into that? You’ve broken down the yoga and diet and all this crazy stuff you’re doing to stay at absolute peak condition. What else are you doing now?
Clark: Same. Yoga, tubs, Pilates, I'm just staying on top of everything and sticking with the consistency. Sticking with what got me here and just always trying to find different ways to get better at doing whatever I’m doing. It’s all in the work. I got guys that push me. “RG,” all my teammates. TJ. D-Wyatt. And we’re a young team. All those guys push me to be great and to bring it every single day because they’re trying to get to where I’m trying to get to. And we all compete. We all have fun competing and it’s a blessing to be able to be in that situation to where I can look to the left and my right and know we’re all trying to get the same thing.
Last season, I was hanging out with Calais Campbell. He’s 38. Still doing it and he said he’s got a specialist for every body part basically. Somebody who stretches him out. Acupuncture. You name it, there’s somebody in his house. He waited a while to actually have kids because he wanted to treat his body like a vehicle to get to this point. What really goes into it?
Clark: So much. I’m so busy during the week, whether it’s dry needling, IVs, body work, whatever the case may be, it’s always something. I do the normal hydration IVs to get hydrated. There’s so much stuff that goes into it week to week and you got to find that routine and some days you don’t want to do that. But the great ones, they do. They do. They find a way to get all this stuff done. In the game, everybody sees what you do. But during the week, it is a process for sure.
Especially when you’re living in the trenches and it’s a different world up at the line of scrimmage. Football is still football. A bunch of 300-pound guys bashing into each other 60, 70 times the game. That takes a toll.
Clark: Exactly.
What’s it really like? How would you even describe that world at the line of scrimmage?
Clark: Man, it is a battle. It’s dogs. All dogs going at it. Every play, there’s contact. And it’s about who’s getting their hands in first. Honestly. It’s about who’s able to get their hands inside. That’s what I love about the game, though. It teaches you so much about yourself. It teaches you so much about — you break it down mentally. Mentally, there’s a lot that goes into it. More than it is physically. That’s what I love about it.
What were those moments when you really did find out something about yourself? A play, a game when it was really mano a mano in there?
Clark: Honestly, I feel like you have those moments every year. I know in previous years I had injuries. I had a couple injuries and stuff wasn’t going right for me in the beginning of the season. It was tough. It was tough. I ain’t going to lie. I was just sticking to what got me there, sticking to my routine, sticking to everything I got. Sticking to everything that got me there and I ended up having a really good season. Finished the season strong and ended up playing really good and I think that propelled me forward into the next year. And it allowed me to ascend and really understand where I was at. But you find so much stuff out mentally about yourself in those adverse moments. Because the season is long. It’s stressful. Every day you’re fighting mentally.
Were there some lower moments you had to fight through?
Clark: Man, it’s a lot.
You’ve had some battles in there. Facing the Lions twice a year, the Vikings. There’s going to be some familiar foes where you know, shit, this is going to be a battle. I’m thinking of you and Frank Ragnow. But is there a player that you know, “OK, I’m studying this scouting report. This is going to be different.”
Clark: There are so many O-Linemen around the league now playing really good football, but Frank is definitely one of those guys. He’s a great player. I would say probably the best in the league.
What makes him just so tough to face?
Clark: He has great body control and his underhand grabbing, especially being at the center position, it’s tough. It lifts guys up. If you’re not good initially, then it’s harder get off of him or to win against him. So I think he does a really good job at that. Our whole division now, man, our whole division now has been tough. I’ve seen the highs of the highs and the lows of the lows in our division. And I would say right now, everybody in our division is competitive. Minnesota. Detroit. The Bears ain’t nothing to laugh at. Everybody is playing really good football.
Covering this team before, Mike Daniels would try to inject a nastiness. A tenacity. … And we talked again about it last year. He was reflecting back on how he wishes the team could have taken on that persona. But they couldn't do it. They couldn’t turn that corner and just be nasty and mean and violent in January. You’ve got to be that way. You’ve been here for a decade now. Is this team getting to that place to have that kind of personality in that game?
Clark: Yeah, I think so. I think with the experience that we had in the playoffs with how much we truly care for each other and how we’ve been working, I think we’re definitely one of those teams. Throughout the course of the season, I think we’ve seen it. I think we’ve seen a lot of that. We’re right up there with the top of the NFC. And we’ve got to keep working. No, definitely it’s been an issue for a minute — that tenacity. But I think we got it under control with how we work, how we practice. I think we’re a pretty physical team.
Detroit, spending some time around the Lions, Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell. They look for this specific DNA in a player. You either have it or you don’t, and they try to do their best to find that guy, put him in this culture and build. It’s nature vs. nurture. Can you really get grown men to get to that place? Probably not, right? You have it or you don’t.
Clark: For sure, for sure. But I definitely think we got the right guys. I think we compete with everybody. So whenever that time comes, when we compete with those guys again or whoever, I know that.
A couple weeks after we talked (in 2021), you’re at Lambeau against the 49ers. Defense did its part.
Clark: I won’t say nothing, though. Everybody loves to talk about how the defense, this and that and that. When you really watch the games… yeah. You’ve got to make your own assumption or whatever. That’s why I try to stay out of that. I feel like it’s always just a narrative: “The defense did this or that.” If you keep it real, the Packers have been an offensive team since ‘95. Since I I’ve been born. I always remember Brett Favre and all these guys. We’ve always been slotted as an offensive team, no matter how good we played on defense, it’s always been about the offense. I love it, though. Our offense, we got ballers. But our goal, we got to keep doing what we’re doing and get better. We’re doing a lot of good things. We’re leading the league in turnovers. We’re stopping the run. We’ve been doing a really good job of playing football, so we got to just keep doing that and all that recognition? We can change the narrative if we play ball how we know it.
It’s in your hands.
Clark: Exactly.
Rasul Douglas, living in Buffalo, we talked back in training camp and he said that 49er game still eats at him. No. 1 seed. At home. You’ve been a part of a few playoff losses. Your rookie year was an NFC Championship in Atlanta.
Clark: Been to three.
A decade of these crushing playoff losses. How hungry does it make you get over the hump?
Clark: I mean, it makes you so hungry because you’re there. We just have to get in that dance — and once we get in the dance — it’s one game at a time. One game at a time. I’ve got confidence against anybody, but it definitely hurts. It hurts when you lose games like that or you put yourself in such a position. The No. 1 seed. And you end up losing. It’s always tough because the 49er game, I had full confidence we were going to beat the Rams the next week. And then playing the Bengals, we beat them earlier in the year. So it hurts. It’s like, “Man, it’s so close all the time.” But that’s the game. You never know when that time’s going to come, but you got to just keep working. And it might be at that time this year.
Can you somehow bring this perspective to the younger players? It’s a good thing in not knowing what you don’t know. Ignorance is bliss. All of these 22-, 23- and 24-year-olds, they haven’t even been a part of these playoff games, so they don’t have those scars. They don’t have that feeling of “Shit, something could go wrong here.” But there’s probably some good you can take from those games in those moments and pass to the younger players.
Clark: I think with the younger guys, it’s getting them to understand: “You don’t get a chance to just go to the playoffs every year.” It’s not slotted that we’re going to the playoffs. It’s not slotted that you’re going to the Super Bowl. It takes so much work to get to that point. And I think by the time they realize and understand that? Last year, for instance, we got to the playoffs. We put in so much work, went on this winning streak, and we get to the playoffs, I’m like, “We need to just keep doing what we’re doing.” We don’t need to have no long speech. We don’t need to do none of that. We need to just lay over it right into the next week. Just like it was a normal game. Because we’ve been playing ball that way. Ignorance is bliss to a certain extent. These guys don’t know nothing about nothing. Ain’t ever been to playoffs. Ain’t ever been in these types of games and we’ve been doing what we’ve been doing because we’ve been locked in and focused on what we need to focus on and not worried about the extras.
Is that what you guys did?
Clark: Yeah, that’s exactly what we did. We went straight into the week. We played the Cowboys right into the next week. There weren’t any talks like, “Oh, we’re in the playoffs now!” None of that. It was regular schedule. We’re on to the next week. We made it to the next week and if we win again, we’re going to make it again to the next week.
Who is that voice behind the scenes that would speak up at any point on this team? Is there a vocal leader?
Clark: I would say “RG,” “X,” me, Josh, Keisean, Elgton. I know this sounds cliche, but we really do have a lot of leaders. There’s a lot of guys. That’s why we don’t do the captains — the C’s on the jerseys. We’ve got a lot of guys that when they step up to talk, they get behind that person. So I think we’ve got a lot of different leaders on the team that do that type of stuff.
Who’s doing it now? That was a rough loss to the Lions. That’s a team you’re going to have to get past in January for sure. Is there a voice right now speaking up to get this thing going?
Clark: We’ve just got to be better and understand what we got to get corrected. We still understand we got to play him again and we might have to play him again later. That’s all cool. But as far as the focus, we lost that game and kudos to them. They won. But that’s a team that we know we can beat for sure. We feel like we can compete with the rest of the NFC, so we got to just keep putting in the work and keep getting better.
What were your realistic expectations when Aaron was traded? You’ve seen Jordan in practice. A little bit in the games. But there were some players that weren’t really sure what he was going to be. Davante Adams said it himself. He had no clue. So, he leaves town. What did you expect in the Jordan Love Era?
Clark: Same. I had no idea. I had no idea. Don’t get me wrong. I saw why he was drafted. I saw the throws that he made and all that. But it’s different in the game than going into practice. You just don’t know. I’m super happy about it now — that we’re beyond that now — but at the time when Aaron first left, it was replacing a Hall of Fame quarterback. All he’s done is ball for this organization and been great. I had confidence that Jordan was going to do it. Because I know he put in the work. But still, you just never know.
Aaron takes up a lot of oxygen, justifiably so. Hall of Fame talent, four-time MVP. When he’s gone, I’d imagine Matt LaFleur’s voice gets a little louder. He can be a little bit more of a head coach, and Jordan’s a younger guy. He can probably relate to a lot of these young players. How did just the psychology of the team shift from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love?
Clark: Yeah, J-Love is just so cool, man. He’s super chill. He relates to everybody pretty well and he’s a younger guy, too. So that’s what makes everything so cool. Everybody’s really just together in on this thing. And Matt has been really just leading it. Matt’s been leading us and really been pushing us to lead it because I mean, we’re a player-led team. Matt gives us that direction and we run off with it.
What kind of head coach is he?
Clark: He’s going to hold you accountable. I love to see the growth from him, too. Because when he first got here, he was a good head coach. But you could tell that talking in front of the team and stuff, everything was new for him. So that was cool to see. It’s cool to see where he’s at now — the swagger’s he got about himself. The confidence he holds himself to. You could tell now he understands where he’s at. I wouldn’t say feeling himself, but he’s got that swagger about him.
When Aaron is gone — they’re about the same age — his voice is going to get a little louder. Maybe it was hard for him to tell the quarterback what to do. You can’t really do that with Aaron at that point.
Clark: He don’t have no problem with holding guys accountable. But I think just because just how the team is built, too. We’re so young. Guys want to get better. He can do that. And we don’t have a lot of vets on the team. He can really push us to — if you have a problem with him holding you accountable, you’re probably not in the best place. You don’t want to really get better like that. You might be the wrong guy.
Have you seen that too? Have you seen him get on somebody and that guy didn't last very long?
Clark: Yeah. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. Some guys take coaching. But it’s football. Some guys take it and some guys can’t. And I mean that’s just what the difference is and that’s why we’re at where we’re at.
Back to you, where are you at right now — physically — after all the games, all the snaps, all the hits, how are you feeling at this point of the year, this point of your career?
Clark: I’m feeling good. I’m feeling as good as I can feel. I had a shoulder and a toe the majority of the whole season. But that’s getting better. I can say that’s getting better. And as far as everything else, I’ve been good.
How hard is it to play through that stuff though? A shoulder and a toe, you kind of need those at D-Tackle.
Clark: Especially the toe. You need that one. But I fight. I fight. I fight. It doesn’t matter to me, I swear. I just love being out there with my teammates and balling with my guys. Whatever it is that they need me to do, I’m going to be out there. And if I can’t be out there, I’m going to be out there regardless. So I’m just one of those type of guys.
What’s it like raising a little girl? Family’s growing. Balancing that all with everything.
Clark: That stuff has been amazing, man. My daughter, she’s so independent and so loving, just a loving spirit, it’s so cool. She’s so active and so smart. There’s never a time that she doesn’t want to do some type of activity. That’s what I love about her. She loves painting and dancing and she loves her YouTube. It’s always some type of activities she’s trying to do.
I hope you’re avoiding the Cocomelon, the Blippi, are you able to tiptoe around those landmines?
Clark: She’s big on the Peppa Pig right now. She wants to go to the Eiffel Tower. She wakes up every morning and says that.
You go to your day job and you’ve got to be a trained killer. Then you come home and you’ve got a softer side. Is it hard flipping that switch?
Clark: Every time I come in, she puts a smile on my face. It’s so cool. Just walking in. She gets so excited to see me. So happy. So any time I see her, I get so happy. It’s a blessing having her. That’s a different type of love — your daughter. Just that daughter love. That father and daughter type of love.
What are your expectations for the rest of the season? You’ve been through it all.
Clark: My expectations for this season? We’ve just got to just keep doing what we’re doing. Getting better each and every week, and that’s going to stack us right up top of the NFC and we going, and we’ve got to fight and go get this ring. But none of that happens without us putting in the work. Start there first. Start with how we prepare. Start by how we work and start by our attitude coming in every day, being the same person every day and working. So as long as we do those three things, we should be holding that trophy at the end.
You’ve been on this relentless pursuit of a Super Bowl for nine years now, going on 10 soon. What really drives you at this point of your career?
Clark: That right there, being able to hold that trophy. I did everything honestly. I did everything. So I want to hold that trophy one day and ball while doing it. It’s no better time to do it than now.
And your perspective that you’re giving the rest of the team here, guys are listening? Do you feel like this team’s finding its identity?
Clark: Yeah, for sure. I feel like we’ve shown that we stack right up top of the NFC and we compete with everybody, it’s just up to us to keep putting in that work and handle business, play hard, do everything we’re supposed to do so we can have the opportunity to go get that ring.
ICYMI:
