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When the Las Vegas Raiders recently trimmed their roster from 90 to 53 players, it didn’t go the way rookie quarterback Jacob Clark would have liked.
But the former Missouri State star, widely believed to be the best to ever play the position at the Springfield school, said he understood the organization’s reasoning.
Clark was an undrafted free-agent pickup sharing a position group with Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall draft pick — as well as veterans Kirk Cousins and Aidan O’Connell. Securing a permanent job was going to be a lofty task.
“They said they really enjoyed having me around and wished there were more of those practice squad spots available,” Clark said. “But those spots are very valuable for guys that are going to potentially be on those game day rosters and there just wasn’t enough to keep me around.”
But Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak’s staff left the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Clark with words of encouragement.
“Basically the gist of what they said was, ‘You should keep trying to play (in the NFL), I think you have what it takes mentally and physically to play football at this level, so just keep going.’”
And that’s what he’s doing.
Clark, who broke about every significant passing record at MSU and led the Bears to a bowl game in their year as a Division I FBS member, is continuing to train in Kansas City and Dallas in case he gets a call from an NFL team. He’s also preparing to be potentially picked up by a United Football League or Canadian Football League team when their rosters begin forming in the coming months.
Clark recently spoke to the Daily Citizen about his NFL experience, what he sees in the 2026 edition of MSU football under first-year head coach Casey Woods, and his time as a Conference USA quarterback.
Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark throws during his pro day on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)
Daily Citizen: I know you’re hoping for another NFL opportunity, but are you also seriously exploring the UFL and Canada?
Jacob Clark: Right now, every option is available. I’m still training and staying ready and hopefully get another opportunity in the NFL. If not, some of the UFL and CFL stuff will come up in the next couple months. I’ll be talking to my agents a little bit about that and decide if that’s the route I want to go and keep playing.
If not, I’ve been toying with the idea of coaching or just getting into something of life after football, but really the main focus right now is training and staying ready and hopefully get an another opportunity to this season.
Based on your few months with the Raiders, did you get the feeling you could earn a long-term job? You were in such a unique situation, quarterback-wise, with fellow rookie and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and two veterans in Kirk Cousins and Aidan O’Connell in the same room. They really had to see what they in the preseason with those guys, which appears to have limited what you could showcase.
I think I could definitely play at that level. Obviously there are certain quarterbacks in the league that could throw it 80 yards and can truck linebackers. With my skill set, I feel like I could go in there and execute and that I’m smart enough to understand an NFL offense. I definitely have confidence that I can do that. Watching how a guy like Kirk Cousins operates and the way he is so successful is his preparation and ability to process a defense; execute plays and throw the ball accurately. But you also have to hit those shots down the field, which I think I am capable of doing.
It was a great experience with the Raiders and being around that coaching staff. I learned a lot from the quarterbacks in the room. I definitely felt like I was a good part of camp; being around (Mendoza) and helping other rookies, even helping (Cousins) with certain things in the meeting room. I think it will all help me for whatever is next, whether that’s playing or coaching.”
It seemed like you were going to get a lot more time in the preseason games, as most rookies do after halftime, but that didn’t happen. Was it because of the situation you were in with all of those quarterbacks, including another rookie months removed from winning the Heisman?
“It was unique because you had the No. 1 overall pick and you want to give him as many reps as possible, which makes a lot of sense. I don’t blame them for that at all. Kirk, obviously an older quarterback, but he likes having preseason reps so he played more in the preseason than some other starters around the league, so that was also a factor. They were trying to get me a drive or two in the final (preseason) game, but it was low scoring, and less plays, so it didn’t happen in how they planned, which was unfortunate.
Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark points for a receiver to get open on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at the Ford Center, in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)
Dozens of former Missouri State football players have reached the NFL in some capacity over the years. You’re the first former MSU quarterback to take a snap at that position in the NFL during a game (preseason or regular season). There’s distinction you can tell your grand kids about one day.
That’s a cool stat. Something I’ve always dreamed of as a kid, to be able to get that opportunity. Even in the games I wasn’t playing in, just to be part of it was really fun for me, to be on the sidelines and talking to guys like Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza and Brock Bowers. It was a fun journey.
You were in Springfield to watch the Missouri State vs. Marshall game (a 30-24 loss on Sept. 12). What were you able to gather about this MSU team under first-year head coach Casey Woods?
The game day atmosphere was fun. You could still see that everything was still heading in an upward tracjectory, and I think Coach Woods is doing a great job in getting the community together, even more in getting Springfield as a whole to back Bears football. I think that’s really important.
From the game itself, I think Marshall is a good football team. It was super competitive last year, and we snuck away with a win at Marshall last year. (MSU) almost snuck away with one this year, so I think the level of play is still high.
I think there is going to be a lot of very close Conference USA games and I think we have the players to go compete and win games in the league. I would have loved for them to go down and score that last touchdown (against Marshall in the final two minutes), but I don’t think their loss is really indicative of what the rest of the season is going to look like. It’s going to be competitive with a lot of one-score games.
A year ago, when you went 7-5 in the regular season to reach a bowl game, there were a lot of those one-possession games you speak of. If some things didn’t go your way, maybe it’s 4-8 year, but if some more things went your way, it’s 9-3. It sounds like you’re expecting that again.
Yeah, just the way Conference USA is built, it’s pretty even across the board, and kind of how it is in the NFL, too, and why they spend so much time on situational football and what it takes to win in two-minute drill, and two-minute drill before the half. Finding so many ways to get points and steal points, and that’s what I expect in CUSA. There might be some games that end up being two-score games if you win the turnover battle or block a punt, and there will be the games where you’ll have to get the win the hard way most of the time.
Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark dives for a touchdown on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)
How was Missouri State football perceived by the guys in the locker room? Your longtime friend and high school teammate, Seattle Seahawks star receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba, knows enough. But what about your Raiders teammates?
There was a good amount of guys that knew a little bit about MSU, and the fact that we transitioned up to FBS got brought up in conversation by guys on the team. They thought it was cool I made it from that school.
You never entered the transfer portal, but I had heard there were agent-like figures with unofficial affiliations, with some bigger programs, who were encouraging you to enter so their school could sign you. Now that you’re out of college, what can you tell me about that?
Yeah, I wasn’t talking on the phone with (coaches from other schools), so I was hearing it through other people. There were some average Power 4 schools that were interested in me coming and competing, potentially being a bridge-year quarterback or a backup they’d be comfortable having if a young guy went out and started and wasn’t playing well. There was also a big ACC school that was interested, and an SEC team that had a quarterback leave late in the 2025 spring transfer portal window. I’ll let you put the puzzle pieces together there (laughs).”
Ryan Collingwood is the sports editor and Missouri State University athletics beat writer for the Springfield Daily Citizen. He can be reached at rcollingwood@sgfcitizen.org or by phone at 417-837-3660. More by Ryan Collingwood