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Friday, March 29, 2024

Le’Raven Clark: A budding offensive lineman and aspiring woodworker

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Sometimes you hear of big football players who do ballet or take tumbling classes in their spare time to keep in prime athletic shape. Then there are those players who take up more stereotypically manly hobbies, and it just makes more sense. Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Le’Raven Clark is an example of the latter.

Clark, all 6-foot-5, 311 pounds of him, is a woodworker. He’s pretty good at it, too — at least good enough to sell some of the stuff he makes. Clark said it’s “nothing expensive or anything like that,” but it’s enough to open the door to a life after football.

“It’s just something I enjoy doing,” he said. “It’s something that I’ll have fun doing after I’m done playing.”

It may be awhile before Clark’s playing days are over. At 25 years old, he’s widely seen as the one of the key pieces for the Colts’ resurgent offensive line going forward. He made four starts and played in 12 games this past season for an offensive line that went five straight games without allowing a sack on star quarterback Andrew Luck. When he appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” on 1070 The Fan in January, Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Clark is at a “prove-it” point in his career. Clark will continue to prove his worth in what will likely be a backup role as all five offensive line starters are returning.

Working with the hands runs in Clark’s family. His grandfather was a welder, and his father was a carpenter. Clark said his father taught him some of the basics with tools and showed him “some tricks here and there.”

“We definitely have a bunch of crafty people in my family, I’d say, so I think that’s where the interest sparks from,” he said.

Most of what Clark has learned about woodworking, though, has come from reading woodworking books and watching videos on YouTube. Clark started his woodworking hobby in college at Texas Tech University, but the NFL is a different game, literally.

It’s difficult as a professional athlete with nearly unfathomable time commitments during the season to keep up with woodworking. Clark has a shop in his garage where he can do some work, but there’s hardly any time for a commitment. There’s more flexibility in the offseason, but even then, it’s not something Clark can give a lot of time to. Between his offseason training in Indianapolis and going back home to Texas, there are still some considerable limitations on what he can do.

But that’s what retirement is for. Along with perhaps ramping up his hobby when football is no longer front and center, Clark said he could even see himself going to work in a saw mill when the time comes.

 

Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.

Colts offensive lineman Le’Raven Clark is trying to establish himself on one of the NFL’s most improved teams, but he’s also quite the woodworker. (Photo provided by Indianapolis Colts) 

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