Our next NFL Draft Scouting Report is on a guy who has worked his tail off since coming to the UCF Knights’ program to become an NFL prospect:

Nevelle Clarke

Photo: Derek Warden

Born in Miami, Clarke was not highly recruited when he came to UCF from Taravella High in Coral Springs, where he played safety, corner, wideout, and also returned kicks. He wasn’t even ranked by the recruiting services.

But he made the best of it right from the jump, redshirting in 2015 before playing in ten games in 2016 as a freshman. After an injury-plagued sophomore campaign, Clarke exploded onto the scene in 2018, earning All-AAC First Team honors after recording 46 tackles, 13 passes defensed, and two picks in 13 starts.

2019 was more of the same as the secret got out. Teams avoided throwing at him, but he still tallied two picks, 11 break-ups, and 22 tackles in 11 games. he was then invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl and the NFL Combine.

His 29 career passes broken up is 9th all-time at UCF. He’s also the cousin of former Miami Hurricanes and NFL running back Willis McGahee.

Measurables

• Position: Cornerback
• Height: 6’1”
• Weight: 187 pounds

Combine Measurements

• Hand Size: 9 1/8 inches
• Arm Length: 31 5/8 inches
• Wingspan: 76 inches
• 225-pound bench press: 10
• Vertical leap: 35 inches
• 40-yard: Did not run
• Shuttle: 4.31 seconds
• Three-Cone: 6.88 seconds
• Broad Jump: 10 feet, 6 inches

Highlights

Three Good Things

Ball skills. Clark has all the skills a ball-hawking pro corner should have. You can tell he has spent countless hours refining the details of pass coverage, especially with his footwork and anticipation.

Size. At 6-1, Nevelle has the classic measurables for a pro DB. He’s also super long and physical with opposing receivers. He has all the tools to handle pro pass catchers.

Tackling. This was an underrated skill for Nevelle, but when called upon, he was a solid tackler in run stoppage. This harkened back to his high school days as a safety.

One Not-so-Good Thing

Gambles a lot. Nevelle would get caught out of position going for the pick, and got nabbed on seven penalties, including four pass interference calls. He sometimes got caught being a tad grabby in certain situations, leading to those calls and a few that were not called.

Best-Case NFL Comparison

Aqib Talib. Talib came out of Kansas with solid size and excellent cover skills, even if he was a tad less physical than he could be coming out of school. IT worked out for him, having played 11 years now in the NFL.

Draft Projection

Day three (Round 4-7)/UDFA. Nevelle is in a position where some pro scouts might absolutely love him - enough to take him higher than others think - while others don’t have him anywhere near their draft board. Either way, he has the right attitude and plenty of skills to work with, and that might get him in the perfect spot to play.