CHARLOTTE — Bud Clark sprinted onto the podium in Indianapolis, a jubilant smile leading the way.

"Ohhh-weee," he grinned. "How y'all doing?"

And off he went, the speedy TCU defensive back talking 100 miles per hour as he held court for over 15 minutes in the podium room at the NFL combine.

"It's either my ball or nobody's ball," he opened, setting the tone for how he plays the safety position but also how he demands the attention he deserves.

"I got to have that as a player, you know, I've got to have that grit, have that resiliency. If I do get caught on something, they have to come back at me for 60 minutes. So I feel like you got to keep beating me, and I feel like no one in this game can."

Top prospects like Caleb Downs and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren initially drew a crowd during the shared media session, but as the press conference window wore on, more and more drifted to the edge, inexplicably drawn to the far podium because you can't deny Bud Clark for an entire game or an entire press conference, his laugh, his confidence, and his breakdown of what it takes to become a good trash talker pulling in anyone who happened by.

"I'm just, I'm fluent with it," he offered on the trash-talking topic, a mischievous grin echoing his words. "I'm very natural.

"Just to understand where you are as a person, just see if you get riled up a little bit or not. I like when people get riled up. If you don't, it means a lot to me, though; it shows a lot about your character."

Clark has always been a tenacious little fighter, never backing down from the challenges life has thrown his way. He was born code blue (meaning he required resuscitation after birth), but instead of letting it become an ominous beginning, the Clark family turned it into a testimony. Bud is here for a reason, and he will always fight for this place.

"Every time I get the chance to do something, I always put my passion into it," Clark preached. "I'm not supposed to be here, and I get to be here."

Between how his mom has raised him from the moment he finally took his first breath to the moment he welcomed his own son, Kenzo, into the world, Clark has added a chip to the edge with which he already played.

"Having my son and my mom, and she raised me, like I said, she raised me every morning, compete, compete, compete, and that's all I did all my life."

That competitive spirit has served Clark well, and it showed in four interceptions in his final season (bringing his career total to 15), including one returned for a touchdown (bringing his career total for pick sixes to two), and 56 tackles. It's why he's not scared to fight for snaps with whichever team he lands, even if it means facing off against his former TCU teammate and friend, Tre'von Moehrig.

"I feel like everything about Tre'von Moehrig was perfect. I always thought that. I feel like he was very resilient. He played with a cast on his hand and some more of it, so I was like, OK, cool," bragged Clark of his friend before clarifying—"I'm not going to lie to you. I'm going to try to take his spot, to be honest with you. I love him to death, but I'm going to try to take his spot."

He's scrappy, slightly undersized for a safety at 6-1, 188 pounds, though he told reporters and teams in Indianapolis he was actively working to gain weight. But the safety who compares himself to the 5-9, 190-pound Tyrann Mathieu—and even gave himself his own Honey Badger-esque moniker with Wolverine— compensates with relentless persistence.

"I'm doing the same thing that big safety is doing 210, 215 (pounds); whatever you're doing, I'm doing it in my size," said Clark. "I feel like I can cover anybody. Sure, you can be a receiver, tight end, anybody.

"Man, I don't care how big you are, how small you are, I'm going to get you on the ground."

Tackling was a point of emphasis for Clark over the last two years, and an area of his game he feels he vastly improved. But one part has never been in question in his mind: his ball skills.

According to Pro Football Focus, Clark's defensive snaps in 2025 broke down as: one on the defensive line, 160 were deep, 250 were in the box, and 313 snaps were in the slot.

Being in the slot—the star position as TCU's system calls it—means he's close to the ball.

"Just knowing what's going on, being able to fit in the box and be able to cover someone, and I feel like I can do both," he explained.

But playing deep and picking off quarterbacks means he gets to show off his center-fielder skills courtesy of playing baseball till his junior year of high school.

"I play baseball, so very much instinct, and I also prepare for it. So when a bunch of situations come up, I also watch film, so I know what's going on."

The biggest tool in his arsenal, though, is his unparalleled trash talk.

"I've had a couple of times where (the opponent is) getting riled up. 'Oh, you're not even worried about the ball. Ball coming towards you, you're just upset,'" he laughed.

"It's pretty cool being back there, but I like to be in a dogfight a little bit too…just having that mentality like you have to beat me for 60 minutes. If I get beat, I have the resiliency to bounce back and do everything that I need to do to beat you."

And that, at its crux, is Bud Clark. He's been fighting for every breath, every snap, every chance to prove someone wrong and himself right since he was born. That isn't going to change at the next level. If anything, it will only grow.

"I'm willing to do anything," Clark promised to any team looking his way. "I just want (teams) to know that I'm excited every day, I'm going to take it very passionately, I'm very passionate about everything that I do, and I want them to know that."