Before the football season started, Sacramento State defensive tackle Christian Clark worried about other people's expectations.

After Clark earned honorable mention all-Big Sky Conference honors in 2008, his selection to the preseason all-league team and landing honorable mention All-America status only added to the pressure he felt to perform.

So the 6-foot-3, 265-pound junior went to work, consistently giving an all-out effort in practice and spending extra time studying film looking for an edge.

He's found one. Clark leads the Big Sky and is tied for sixth nationally in sacks per game (1.13). He also ranks second in tackles for a loss per game (1.62) and has emerged as a quiet leader on a fast-improving defense.

Clark's four sacks in last Saturday's 27-24 victory over Northern Arizona set a school record in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) era and pushed his season total to nine. His play also helps keep alive the Hornets' chances of finishing with a winning record.

"You know why he plays so well on Saturdays is because he practices so hard during the week," said Sac State coach Marshall Sperbeck, whose team takes a 3-3 league record and 3-5 overall mark into Saturday's game at Northern Colorado.

"He gives a great effort Monday through Friday, then Saturday he shows up and plays the same way."

Defensive-line coach Jon Osterhout raves about Clark, who joined the program in 2006 as a walk-on.

"He's a coach's dream," Osterhout said. "His work ethic is phenomenal. His film study … he's a football junkie.

"His practice effort habit is second to none. … You've seen him develop from last year to now. That's just his preparation as a football player."

And Clark's fear that he won't meet expectations.

"It's been a long road getting here," he said. "I'm still not where I'm capable of being.

"Coming into the season, I had a lot of worries what I was going to do. Those expectations, I had to live up to them."

Clark, voted a captain by his teammates, said he spends extra time watching film hoping to spot something that will pay off on Saturdays.

"I just want to know my opponent in and out, so on game day I can perform," he said. "You know his weaknesses – you can on game day try to exploit that."

Clark's offensive teammates who go against him in practice wish they could find a weakness to gain the upper hand.

"It's just great having him on the team," center John Taylor said. "Practicing against one of the best guys in the league makes me better, makes us better, the offensive line.

"He's got a lot of speed and quickness to him. He's not afraid of contact. … You've got to play your technique perfect."

Osterhout, a former Hornets offensive lineman, said that's hard to do against someone with Clark's skill set.

"He can bring the power segment of it with his leverage and his explosiveness out of his hips," Osterhout said. "He's got fluidness in his hips and athletic ability to make you miss.

"He's got a combination of moves that are going to cause linemen fits."

And give Clark a chance to savor the sweet satisfaction of sacking the quarterback.

"Once you get it, it's probably the best feeling," said Clark, who recorded five sacks last season. "It's so hard getting there, once you do it, you just want to get up and celebrate."

Clark, a sociology major from Palisades Charter High School who hopes to become a firefighter, said he's adjusted to his move from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

"Since I've been up here three years, it just feels like home," he said. "When I go back to L.A. now, it feels like I'm a visitor.

"Coming up here, not having any family, it was kind of rough (at first). I was accepted by my teammates. They're my family.

"I really just like hanging out with the fellows on the team."

And dropping in on opposing quarterbacks on Saturdays.

Call The Bee's John Schumacher, (916) 326-5523.