WEST LAFAYETTE − Charles Clark sprints down the sideline, intent and intense while delivering a message for a member of Purdue football‘s secondary.
Good play or bad, Clark brings that same passion and delivery.
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It’s the realness quality that draws Boilermaker defensive backs to their position coach.
“I think the blunt teaching and being really direct with what he wants out of his players is a plus,” said senior defensive back Don Saunders, a transfer from Utah. “You’ve got coaches who beat around the bush with what they want. There’s no blurred lines with coach Clark.”
It’s a blend of those qualities and Clark’s ability to connect with players individually and from a team component that earned Clark a fancy new title and a significant pay raise in the offseason.
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The Boilermakers‘ defensive backs coach is also defensive pass game coordinator. Along with the new distinction comes a $125,000 base salary bump, bringing it to $550,000.
Purdue head coach Barry Odom says he sees head coaching in Clark’s future “if he chooses to go that path,” but right now, Clark is a valuable asset to the Boilers, one Odom wants to keep in West Lafayette as long as possible.
“He’s got tremendous leadership skills,” Odom said. “He’s a great mentor.”
A former standout cornerback at Ole Miss, Clark showed that throughout his coaching journey, including a history of success over five seasons at Memphis before he was hired at Purdue a year ago.
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Success wasn’t something tied to the Boilermaker secondary a season ago.
Purdue defensive backs recorded just three interceptions in 2025. Two of them came from cornerback Hudauri Hines and nickel Smiley Bradford, both still on the roster. Opponents averaged 9.3 yards per pass and 14.4 yards per completion against the Boilermakers, both last in the Big Ten, though the secondary can hardly be the sole blame for that.
To address holes in the secondary, Clark’s room added eight defensive backs from the transfer portal, including two junior college All-Americans.
“His ability to recruit and retain was as valuable as anybody in the offseason trying to find a way to get that done,” Odom said.
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Odom said that mentorship is player-specific, finding the best route of learning for each individual athlete and utilizing those routes to get everyone unified.
Purdue defensive backs coach Charles Clark talks to the Boilermaker secondary after practice at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025 in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“When you pour into the guys off the field, and you invest in knowing who they are and how they tick and what makes them go and what makes them go emotionally, you kind of learn them that way, and you apply it to football and teaching,” Clark said after Tuesday’s spring practice.
“Some guys have to come out and walk through things. Some guys I can tell in the hallway, this is going to be the check for today. Some guys I have to show them film, exactly the details and fundamentals of it. You just continue to fine-tune that and work all angles until the guys have it, and once they have it, we hit the ground running.”
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Bradford entered the transfer portal and was lured back to Purdue. He’s part of a Boilermaker secondary room of 25 players. Clark doesn’t want to designate them as cornerbacks, safeties or nickels, saying he doesn’t want to put limitations on any of them.
Throughout spring camp, the secondary has been a position group that’s stood out.
“He’s holding us all to a standard and making us all get better at something each day,” said Hines, who led Purdue with eight pass breakups a season ago.
But Clark remains intense and intent, even with significant progress obvious.
Every miscue is a teaching moment, and Clark thrives on demanding perfection.
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“We’re like pilots,” Clark said. “A pilot can’t be 98% right. It’s a bad day for everybody when that happens.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Charles Clark leads Purdue football secondary with new coach title
