Clark settled in at State

Arceto Clark's career at Mississippi State has been all over the place.

From having his redshirt burned as a true freshman, serving a one-year suspension and playing both wide receiver and cornerback, the junior was happy to finally have some consistency in 2010.

Clark was able to put his past behind him and was one of the Bulldogs top targets hauling in 25 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns drawing 12 starts.

"It gave me a lot of confidence," Clark said. "Once you get out there playing, it's not like high school but, you start getting into a groove. Things start feeling much easier."

In 2008 Clark appeared to be headed towards a redshirt. But seven games into the season then head coach Sylvester Croom decided to play the freshman in the final five contests.

Clark carried three times for 21 yards and also caught three passes for 11 yards over that span.

"Coming in, I just wanted to play," Clark said. "Everybody wants to play coming in as a freshman. I didn't know that I wasn't going to play that many plays but it all worked out for me. I'm still out here grinding and trying to get better."

The following spring Clark was involved in an off the field incident on campus and suspended indefinitely. He remained a part of the team and practiced the entire 2009 season at cornerback while using up his redshirt season.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder moved back to receiver in the spring of 2010 and it was a move that paid off for the Bulldogs last fall.

"I'm glad Coach (Dan) Mullen came so that we can pass the ball more," Clark said.

The Verona, Miss., native came to MSU as a two-star athlete. Clark starred on both sides of the ball during his career at Shannon High School grabbing four interceptions as a senior and catching 56 passes for 1,090 yards and 10 touchdowns during his junior campaign. He selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic as a wide receiver.

State has all of its receivers returning this fall and Clark has been pleased with the effort from that group during camp this fall.

"It's going real good," Clark said. "I'm just trying to get better every day. I'm just trying to be a leader and keep the guys going. We keep pushing each other every day."

Clark and the rest of the receivers are adjusting well to new position coach Angelo Mirando. Mirando has spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Bulldogs but assumed the wide receiver coach role when Mark Hudspeth left to take the head coaching job at Louisiana-Lafayette before the Gator Bowl.

"I love him," Clark said of Mirando. "He brings a lot of energy and a lot of excitement. He can relate to us."

With the regular season just days away, Clark is anxious to get going and showcase their improved receiving efforts.

"I'm just excited about the season and ready to play," Clark said. "I know we're going to make plays. I'm just ready for the season to start so we can show what we can do."