SPORTS

Gamecocks' Clowney featured in ESPN program

Willie T. Smith III
wtsmith@greenvillenews.com

COLUMBIA – Since announcing his intentions to attend South Carolina to play football, Jadeveon Clowney's life has been well chronicled on television.

That continued Tuesday night when ESPN hosted a 30-minute feature on the former Gamecocks defensive end who two months ago was chosen by the Houston Texans as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

The ESPN program, titled "ESPN Presents: Jadeveon Clowney" and which will be re-broadcast on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, opened with his gone-viral tackle of Michigan running back Vincent Smith in the 2013 Outback Bowl. That play made him a household name among even non-college football fans, and it was just the first of numerous video clips that ranged from Clowney's days at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill through draft night.

After setting USC records for most sacks (13) and tackles for loss (23.5) during his sophomore season and being selected Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Clowney was forced to deal with different tactics from opposing teams as a junior.

If that wasn't enough, he went through an offseason in which he listened to daily debates on whether he should play as a junior or sit out the season, the logic being he would avoid potential injury until becoming eligible for the draft, in which he was already projected to be the No. 1 prospect.

Clowney did play, though double- and triple-teamed by blockers and enduring a series of nagging injuries, the 6-6, 266-pounder's statistics fell drastically. He managed three sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.

"I believe my 2013 was just as good as my 2012," Clowney said in the documentary. "We won 11 games and ended up ranked No. 4 in the country, the first time in South Carolina history.

"People are going to say what they want to say. The season just did not go like I planned. I'm fine with it. I still think I played hard as I did (in 2012), regardless of what anybody thinks."

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier recently defended Clowney's play during his junior season.

"We were 33-6 while Jadeveon was with us," Spurrier said. "Following his sophomore year, he had people saying he shouldn't even play and he would be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

"He signed for $22 million, I think. He played even though a knee injury could have stopped all that and he played well."

The show is the second that has featured Clowney on ESPN in recent months. He was part of a weekly hour-long program that followed several athletes on the journey to the NFL draft.

The program signaled that Clowney, whose Texans football jersey already has risen to the 16th-highest seller in the NFL, continues to hold the attention of a large segment of football fans.

It ended with a quote attributed to Clowney in a conversation with Houston coach Bill O'Brien during a pre-draft visit to the team's facilities.

"I'm going to stick my neck out for you," Clowney reportedly told O'Brien. "I need you to stick your neck out for me."