Clark has been a busy man thus far, playing 321 of a possible 381 defensive snaps. That 84.3-percent playing time ranks third among defensive tackles, according to FootballOutsiders.com, with only Los Angeles' Aaron Donald (89.8 percent) and Cleveland's Larry Ogunjobi (89.5 percent) seeing more action.

Playing is one thing, but producing is another. Early on, Clark has been one of defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's top playmakers, providing stout support against the run and pushing the pocket as an interior rusher on passing downs.

With Muhammad Wilkerson out for the season with an ankle injury, Clark's flexibility has made it tough to take the third-year veteran off the field. Yet, he's continued to make plays late in games despite his high rep count.

In the Packers' win over the 49ers, Clark stopped running back Matt Breida twice for no gain on first down in the fourth quarter. Both times it led to the San Francisco drive sputtering.

"I didn't expect I was, but it's something I got used to, honestly," Clark said of his extensive playing time. "I just try to take it one drive at a time. At the end of the day, everybody comes up to me like, 'Do you know how many snaps you have?' I'm like I didn't even know. I knew I played a lot, but I don't even know the amount of plays I'm playing and whether that's a lot or not."

It's not like Clark hasn't done this before. He recalls times at UCLA when he'd play close to 100 percent of the defensive snaps in a few pivotal Pac-12 matchups. Yes, fatigue challenges technique, but experience has taught Clark to overcome it.

Although he didn't anticipate playing so much this season, Clark invested a lot of time and effort this past offseason into his strength and conditioning, and his teammates have taken notice.

"He's been huge," linebacker Blake Martinez said. "He's an amazing player and he's helped us out a ton. Disruptive nearly every single play."

Clark and the Packers' defense are in for perhaps their stiffest test of the year against a Rams offense that's averaging 33.6 points per game and 445.3 total yards. Los Angeles' run game, buoyed by All-Pro back Todd Gurley, currently leads the league with 153.1 yards per contest.

With dozens of family scheduled to be in attendance, Clark feels up to the challenge much like he was during his freshman year in 2013 when the Bruins toppled No. 23 USC 35-14 in front of more than 85,000 at the Coliseum.

Asked about his coach's comments Tuesday, Clark appreciated the Pro Bowl compliment. While he has bigger aspirations than individual accolades, Clark would be lying if he said he didn't have "Pro Bowl" scribbled down as an objective for 2018.