JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Nearly a year to the day after he thought his season was over, Jacksonville State linebacker Marshall Clark smiles as he sits inside a suite overlooking Burgess-Snow Field on campus. The junior from nearby Munford, Alabama, shakes his head, still unsure how they pulled it off, navigating all the uncertainty of that summer, playing seasons in both the fall and the spring, and then somehow managing to reach the playoffs.
Somehow, like everyone else here, Clark has mustered the energy to be excited for what comes next. Mentally, he says, they're ready.
On Wednesday, the Gamecocks, who compete in the FCS, will begin their third season in a 12-month period when they go on the road to Montgomery (7:30 p.