Former South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who still hopes to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, said during a radio interview on Thursday that does not plan to have surgery on the bone spurs that bothered him during the 2013 season.
“If the team that gets me in the draft wants me to get (the surgery), I’ll get it. If not, I won’t,” he said on The Dan Patrick radio show, according to The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C.
Clowney might get the surgery following his rookie season in the NFL. But for now he plans to participate in all drills at the NFL Combine.
Clowney is ranked as the No. 2 overall NFL prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, and he is No. 1 on Rob Rang’s Big Board.
Clowney was named a first-team All-American for the second straight season in 2013, but his sack total dropped from 13 in 2012 to three as a junior this past season.
Clowney was bothered by foot problems much of the season. He wore a walking boot around campus in September to protect a bone spur in his right foot.
He has had the injury since high school, and rest typically reduced the pain. Clowney said the discomfort was greater this year, however.
“If we’d have known he needed surgery in the offseason, he’d have gotten it,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said during a September teleconference, according to The State. “Just recently, I think, it started bothering him a little bit.”