South Carolina fans got some welcomed news this week when Steve Spurrier announced that junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney would be in the starting lineup when the Gamecocks open the season against North Carolina on August 29.
Clowney had endured minor injuries to his knee and his shoulder in fall practice but he was back at it on Tuesday and things returned to normal for South Carolina in its preparation for the season opener. It is a stiff test for the Gamecocks against an ACC foe that is coming off an 8-4 season, returns 13 starters and is considered a challenger for the league championship.
This is an important opener for the Gamecocks, who are also considered challengers for the SEC championship and maybe even more. Those chances were certainly be lessened if Clowney did not play. This is the season that Clowney plans to win a championship ring and then jump to the NFL Draft next April.
Clowney, a 6-foot-6, 272-pounder, has all the tools to be a repeat All-America first-team performer this season and a standout NFL star for years to come. He delivered the most famous hit of the bowl season, and maybe ever when all is said and done, when he laid a vicious, but legal, lick on Michigan running back Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl with time winding down in the game. The blow knocked Smith’s helmet off and forced a fumble, which Clowney then recovered by reaching out with one hand and palming the ball.
So the future looks bright for Clowney, although according to defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, Clowney does have one drawback.
“JD doesn’t play hard all the time, and he knows that. I tell him all the time,” Ward told Josh Kendall of The State newspaper. “He plays hard when he needs to. The great thing about him is when he has to make a play, he will make it. But I want him to make those plays all the time. When you are in great shape, you will do that.
“If he plays hard nine out of 10 snaps, I am going to be proud of him,” said Ward. “I think you will see a different guy as far as effort every down this season.”
Clowney had 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss among his stats for last season, and he needs just eight more sacks to set the all-time South Carolina career record.
Gamecocks’ defensive line coach Deke Adams admits he’s had talks with Clowney about his consistency.
“That was one of the knocks on him before, that he didn’t play hard all the time,” Adams said. “We talked a lot about doing that on a consistent basis. I pushed the whole group to do that. It’s not something we are just focusing with (just) him.”
Clowney knows he has been blessed with physical skills that will put him at the top of his game but he still has to work on his consistency.
“I used to get tired last year during games a lot,” Clowney said. “Now I’ve got myself really in good shape. That’s all it was. I am not worried about my game, because my game was all right last year. I was just out of shape last year, but I am in shape (now).”
That is bad news for South Carolina’s opponents.