How NFL legend Ray Lewis created early signing day memory for Ole Miss signee Cameron Clark

Cameron Clark didn’t have any surprises up his sleeve. He was committed to and signed with Ole Miss football on Wednesday in the South Gibson gym.

But count on grandma to have a surprise in her back pocket.

Clark grew up a huge fan of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. He idolized the 12-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion. Clark always wore No. 52, the number Lewis wore throughout his entire 17-year pro career – but he didn’t quite Lewis’ iconic dance mastered, though.

At his signing day celebration, just before Clark put the pen to paper – he was stopped by principal Phil Rogers.

“There’s one more person, who couldn’t be here, but has something to say to you,” Rogers said to Clark.

Lewis’ face popped up on the TV screen with a personalized recorded message for Clark.

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The 6-foot-4, 225-pound South Gibson linebacker was stunned. Shocked, even.

“That was my childhood complete right there,” Clark said. “Growing up, I always wanted to be like Ray Lewis. I always wanted to wear No. 52, play for the Ravens. I watched all his videos, his highlights. Everything – just his mentality, his physicality. It hit home, that was a complete dream right there.”

The first half of the message was advice for Clark to surround himself with positive people – Lewis said he didn’t during his time at Miami (Florida).

Lewis’ parting words to Clark were meaningful, Clark said he is going to keep those words close to his heart while he’s down in Oxford.

“Today is about you,” Lewis said in the message. “Today is about taking whatever lesson you’ve heard from not just me, your parents, everybody around you. You’ve become a man, a young man with morals, character like no other. Shake a man’s hand, firm and strong. You let them know that Cameron Clark is here. Congratulations.”

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The journey for Clark to sign for the Rebels was an arduous one. From the sense that he dealt with a series of injuries in his early high school days and a sense of doubt when he left Rutherford Middle School.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to play football anymore.

Former South Gibson coach Scott Stidham talked Clark into playing football. Clark tried football and found himself playing on the Hornets’ freshman team with his older brother, Josh, on the coaching staff.

“I wasn’t feeling it at first,” Cameron said. “But the more I was out on the field, it just clicked and everything fell into place.”

As Clark continued to grow as a young man and a football player, the offers started rolling in. Clark racked up 19 offers, including eight Power Five programs and Notre Dame.

Clark grew up a massive LSU fan, his sister had an affinity for the Tigers. But the offer never came from Baton Rouge, so he kept his attention to which school was going to be the best fit.

Throughout the whole process, Clark visited Ole Miss several times and he loved everything about Oxford each time he went. He will enroll in January.

“(I) just (feel) pride, man,” his dad, Dwayne Clark, said. “All the work that he’s put in to get to this point – I knew he was going to play at the next level. He was riddled with injuries his first two years, but I guess the adversity made him that much more of a man, person and ballplayer.”

South Gibson coach Ben Johnson was impressed with Clark’s growth on the field throughout the last two seasons. The growth off the field was just as impressive to the second-year Hornet coach.

“His love for the game seemed to be very high (then) and it still is now,” Johnson said. “As a person, he’s going to continue to develop, work on his character – those things that make up the intangibles of a great football player. … It’s all about improving yourself a little bit each day – that’s something he tries to live by.”

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Cameron Clark signs with Ole Miss football