Former Pittsburgh Steelers Star Ryan Clark Taught His Son a Hilarious and Valuable Lesson After Missing Three Tackles

When your dad played in the NFL, you’ll hear.

That was apparently the case for Jordan Clark. His dad, former Pittsburgh Steelers star Ryan Clark, let him hear it over a bad game in high school.

Jordan Clark, now a cornerback at Arizona State, joined the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast this week and shared the story of the time his dad taught him an important — albeit hilarious — lesson. Apparently, he missed three tackles in a game.

So his dad, being the star linebacker he was, did what he could to make sure that didn’t happen again.

“My sophomore year, I had missed three tackles. If there’s one thing that my dad did when he played, he hunted. Bro like, he was a banger,” Jordan Clark said. “So I missed three tackles. I seen him stand up in the stands, and I already knew he was mad. The next day, bro, he woke me up and he brought out his Super Bowl helmet and his pads. We did Oklahomas for like, an hour bro. Bro, like, legitimately. Lined up across from each other like, five yards away from each other and just ran into each other for like, an hour.

“I got yelled at, cussed out. Everything. I was mad, I went home crying. Like, I was hurt.”

Jordan Clark’s biggest takeaway from lesson learned from dad

This happened about six years ago, Jordan Clark said, which means it was just a few years after Ryan Clark retired from the NFL. Naturally, Ryan Clark went all-out for the drills. He not only wore the helmet and pads he wore in the Super Bowl, but he ordered a very specific jersey.

“I was getting messed up the whole time,” Jordan Clark said. “He literally had his Super Bowl helmet, the helmet he wore in the Super Bowl bro, he had it on. … He ordered like, a practice jersey that looked like my high school practice jersey with like the number on it and everything.”

It’s safe to say things worked out well after that. Jordan Clark went on to play college football at Arizona State, where he’s gearing up for his fifth season. Last year, he put up career numbers with 47 total tackles and two interceptions.

But Jordan Clark never forget the lesson he learned after that bad game, thanks to his dad. He summed up what he learned in three important words.

“Don’t miss tackles,” he said.