Missouri State football QB Jacob Clark making case to be among program’s GOATs

Four offensive plays into Missouri State football’s 41-7 win over Illinois State, star quarterback Jacob Clark dropped back to pass and launched a ball deep down the seam to D’Vontae Key.

The ball dropped perfectly into Key’s arms as he made very little adjustment in stride. He went 62 yards for a touchdown and the rout was on.

Another week, another award-worthy Clark performance.

Clark finished the game with his fourth-consecutive 300-plus-yard passing game while winning his third Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of the Week honor.

Somehow, the 6-foot-5 gunslinger is getting better by the week. The conversation around the Bears’ star player has now turned into where he ranks among the best players in the program’s history and what kind of postseason accolades he may receive.

Out of anyone in the whole FCS, I want Jacob Clark as our quarterback,” MSU coach Ryan Beard said. “I would be willing to take him over most FBS guys. He’s our guy and he’s who we’re going to ride with and the players feed off that.”

Clark hasn’t made an entire season’s worth of starts through his first three years with the team but he’s already climbing into the Missouri State record book. He will likely receive a medical redshirt to lead the Bears into their first season as an FBS program come 2025, perhaps giving him a chance to rise to the top.

In 10 starts and 11 total appearances since transferring from Minnesota, Clark has thrown for 2,963 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 69% of his passes for a 169.6 efficiency rating. Those numbers make him 10th in school history in passing touchdowns, 12th in yards and first in completion percentage and efficiency.

Beard’s seen Clark’s biggest jump in recent weeks in how he uses his legs. Clark is figuring out presnap where defenses overload him, giving him a chance to scamper for a gain when nothing’s there. He often escapes the pocket while keeping his eyes down the field or takes off, sometimes picking up the first.

“He’s playing at a high level,” receiver Dash Luke, coming off a career-high six catches for 88 yards, said. “I just feel like the offense is unstoppable right now.”

More: QB Jacob Clark ready to lead Missouri State football into this year and Conference USA

His success follows Jason Shelley who started the Bears’ 2021 and 2022 seasons and joined D’Andre Smith as the school’s two best at the position. Shelley finished with the fourth-most passing yards and second in passing touchdowns while proving to be a winner during the 2021 playoff run, the program’s greatest season in over three decades.

Shelley was named the 2021 MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, an honor that Clark should get attention for during the second half of the season. If he’s in the mix for the Valley’s top honor, he should also be in the running for the Walter Payton Award, the Heisman Trophy of the FCS.