Rece Davis pays tribute to late UCF assistant Shawn Clark
By David Wasson
Published:
ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis took a moment during Saturday morning’s show to remember former Central Florida assistant coach Shawn Clark, who died suddenly last week at the age of 50.
“Knights are playing with heavy hearts,” Davis said. “Clark was the head coach of his alma mater Appalachian State for five years. You remember we went to Boone, N.C., with College GameDay in September 2022 because Clark had led his team to an upset of Texas A&M and changed our entire venue. And then they won the game against Troy on a spectacular play.
“Our deepest condolences going out to Shawn, his family, his friends and everyone in the coaching community. … UCF will be wearing a decal in Shawn Clark’s honor. So, too, will they Appalachian State.”
Central Florida coach Scott Frost hired Clark to coach the Knights’ offensive line after Clark’s 4-year head coaching stint at Appalachian State came to a close in 2024. Clark was a 2-time All-American and 3-time all-conference selection for teams that went a combined 45–16 during his 5-year playing career in Boone. Clark was 40-24 as a head coach of the Mountaineers, developing over a dozen NFL offensive linemen in his career.
Central Florida is playing at Kansas State on Saturday, and App State plays at Boise State on Saturday night.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
