OXFORD — Charles Clark hasn’t played a down of college football since 2006, but he still wears cleats to practice.

Through stints at Duke, Colorado and Oregon, Clark wore his cleats to practice. He’s done the same since arriving at Ole Miss earlier this year.

It’s not a gimmick.

“As long as I can hold onto my youth, I try to,” said Clark, who joined Matt Luke’s staff as cornerbacks coach in January. “Also, it’s good for me to be able to run around with the guys still. If I have to demonstrate something, I’m still able to. I still take advantage of that.”

Clark, a Green Cove Springs, Fla., native who played at Ole Miss from 2003 through 2006, said he’s loved being back in Oxford, coaching at his alma mater and bringing a new energy to the Rebels’ defensive secondary.

“It’s been great,” Clark said. "There’s a lot of energy, not only from the players and the coaching staff, but also from the people around town. They’ve taken me back in and welcomed me. It’s been a great experience so far.

“When Coach (Luke) called me on New Year’s Day, I was actually down at the Rose Bowl watching the game. Coach hit me up. I looked at it as an opportunity. I was grateful for it and I’m glad I’m back.”

Clark works closely with Jason Jones, who focuses primarily on safeties.

“We meet together a lot for communication purposes and we have a lot of guys who play multiple positions,” Clark said. "I feel like we’ve got some talented guys for sure. We have guys who have played a lot of ball — from the older guys like Ken Webster and Jaylon Jones to the younger guys like D.D. (Bowie). With those guys having a lot of experience, I’m able to play multiple guys and keep those guys fresh, especially going against the big-time receivers we go against every day.”

Luke brought Clark back to Ole Miss for his recruiting prowess as well. The Rebels are very much in a rebuild that must take place on the recruiting trail, and Clark brings a perspective that should appeal to prospects and their families.

“It’s just a different passion just because I can speak from true experience,” Clark said. “I think it might be a little easier for families to truly understand that I’ve been in those situations and that I’ve been in those shoes. I came from distance and some of those (recruits) are coming from distance. It’s just a different passion and a different feel for it. It’s tough because in the SEC you’re going against the big boys. I was at Oregon last year and there are some big boys on the west coast, like at Colorado.

"As far as the competition, it’s the same, but like I said, I can speak from a different experience (at Ole Miss).”