Wesley "Buzzy" Clark (1982) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Wesley "Buzzy" Clark

Induction:
1982

   Wesley (Buzzy) Clark was an outstanding two way tackle for Coach Thad (Pie) Vann and the Southern Miss teams of 1953 through 1955. Clark is remembered for his outstanding blocking abilities that keyed the Southern Miss running attack in the mid-1950s.
   Clark had outstanding speed and quickness for a player his size (6-0, 251 as a senior) and those skills and his agility also made him an outstanding defensive player as well.
   Clark joined Southern Miss from Belzoni, Mississippi and came from a football family. His twin brother Les, played on the same team and is also in the USM Sports Hall of Fame and their older brother Jim was an outstanding player at Ole Miss.
   Clark began to see action during the 1953 campaign, after a red-shirt year. With Clark blocking up front that Southern Miss team had one of the best running attacks that the team has ever possessed. With Hall of Famers Bucky McElroy and Hugh Laurin Pepper carrying the ball, the team piled up 2,854 yards on the ground (285.6 average), the fifth highest total in school history. That 1953 team finished the year with a 9-2 record, had a 25-19 win over Alabama and earned a berth in the Sun Bowl against Texas El Paso.
   Clark really began to come into his own during the 1954 season as Southern posted a 6-4 record and he continued to be one of the leaders on both the offensive and defensive line. On offense Clark continued to open gaping holes for running backs Fred Smallwood and Carl Bolt and provide pass protection for quarterbacks George Herring and Jim Davenport. Defensively Clark helped lead a Southern defense that recorded shutouts against Louisiana Tech and Villanova.
   Clark made his senior season in 1955 his finest year yet, as once again he anchored the Southern Miss offensive and defensive line. On offense he helped to open holes for a Southern offense that scored over 30 points five times and averaged 252.8 rushing yards a game. The defense that year allowed only 49 points (4.9 per game) and the most points a team scored against the Golden Eagles that year was 14 (Memphis State). That was a school record for the fewest points allowed in a season, and the 122.0 total yards per game allowed that season was also a school record. That 1955 Southern defense led by Clark at tackle allowed only seven touchdowns all year and 78 first downs.
   Clark would set the standards that offensive and defensive lineman still strive to achieve today at Southern Miss. Although Clark knew that the accolades for linemen were few and far between and that the players at the glamour positions would attract most of the attention, he still went about his responsibilities with a great deal of pride and dedication. He had the skills to be a good player, but it was his inner desire and drive to win that made him one of Southern’s greatest linemen.