Photo courtesy of University of Virginia

Aaron Clark (41) defends on a punt against Georgia Tech last season. He forced a fumble on the play. But Clark had his finest game against Miami with a career-high four tackles and his first sack.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Among the shoulder and knee operations that football players undergo in the offseason, a tonsillectomy would not constitute a common surgical procedure.

However, it's made a major difference for outside linebacker Aaron Clark in his bid to win a starting job at Virginia.

"I don't know whether people remember, but the past few years, I would be just dog-sick for the first couple days of camp," said Clark, a 2005 Rockbridge County High School graduate.

"It was just some virus that I was getting, so the doctor said it would be a good idea to have my tonsils out. As soon as I had a chance, I got them cut and I haven't gotten sick once."

Among other things, the annual training camp virus would make it difficult for Clark to keep his weight up.

"I can come out here and just push it every day because I know my body can handle it," Clark said. "Just the overall health factor is just a big deal for me."

Clark is splitting time with junior Denzel Burrell at the outside linebacker position vacated by 2007 senior Jermaine Dias.

"We're flopping reps every day," Clark said. "We're just working hard, trying to make it hard for the coaches [to make a decision]."

Of Virginia's two outside linebackers in 2007, Clint Sintim, who returns, did the bulk of the pass rushing. Based on the two Saturday practices open to fans and the media, UVa will come at the quarterback from more angles this season.

"We all really focused on trying to change our bodies, so we could all be similar on the field and not have to worry about who was going to do what specific job," said Clark, who backed up Sintim last year.

Clark credited strength coach Matt Balis for conditioning the linebackers so they could be faster, strong and more explosive.

"I came back from tonsil surgery this winter and started out with a pretty clean slate," Clark said. "I had lost weight after the tonsil surgery and he just transformed me. I lost 2 or 3 percent body fat and added 21 pounds of muscle.

"He's been an amazing attribute to this team."

Clark, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound senior, played in all 13 games last year but got on the field for only 119 plays. Never redshirted, he has played 251 plays in his career.

This is his last chance to leave a mark.

"You think about it every day," said Clark, a letterman for the first time in 2007. "This really is my last chance to do something to prove myself. It's an extra motivating factor, but you try not to dwell on it.

"It's crazy to think about. This is my 14th straight season of playing football. I started when I was 7. It's hard to think about life without football, but you've got to go on."

Clark's signature moment may have come at the Orange Bowl, when he wreaked havoc late in the Cavaliers' 48-0 romp over Miami. Clark had a career-high four tackles and his first career sack.

"The first time you go out and play some real ball, it makes you feel great to be able to make some plays," he said, "but you've got to come out every play, every day, every practice, every game like you haven't done anything."