We can all breathe a little easier again. Our long national nightmare is officially over.
In an announcement that was broadcast live on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Jadeveon Clowney did the (somewhat) expected and revealed that he will be attending the University of South Carolina in the fall. Provided his academics are up to snuff, of course.
“I chose [South Carolina] because I got a lot of friends up there, it’s close to home, my mom can come see me play all the time,” Clowney said shortly after making his announcement.
The Gamecocks had been the purported front-runners for the No. 1 high school football player in the country for months, but a late “charge” by Clemson no doubt left the USC coaching staff uncertain as to which direction the standout defensive end would go. Before signing day Feb. 2, it was reportedly a two-school race between South Carolina and Alabama for Clowney’s services; after signing day — and Dabo Swinney’s recruiting haul — Clowney publicly added the Tigers into the mix.
Multiple reports also had the Tide fading, essentially making it, again, a two-school race heading into the announcement. It appears, however, that Clowney’s mother nixed her son going to Tuscaloosa.
“When I went to Alabama [on an official visit] I was very close to choosing Alabama. I had fun down there. I really didn’t want to come back home,” Clowney said. “But momma didn’t like it ’cause it was too far.”
Clowney had actually made his decision early last week, but decided to allow the circus to continue anyway.
We are glad that Jadeveon Clowney made his decision! Maybe now this drama saga is over? He has joined with a good coach and a team which will a little more help (he could help them very much) they will truly contend for the SEC championship and be in the top 10 or top 5 of the nation. A dear and long time friend is a former star player (many decades ago) with the Gamecocks, so we visit and attend some games with him. We look forward to seeing Clowney in action v. SEC competition. He sure looked well, extraordinarily well!, in this videos.
Clowney knows that its better to compete for 3rd-4th in the SEC as opposed to 4th in your own ACC division. He’ll do fine in South Carolina while Dabo gets his resume polished for a job at Costco.
That or Dabo’s staff was too full to take Clowney’s HS coach, a la Steward.
Excellent choice, IMO. USC is doing a great job on rush defense, and Clowney could really help make the pass defense an absolute terror for any opposing team, no matter how dynamic and diverse.
That makes 107 student athletes and USCe has signed in the last 4 years. Nobody getting run off from that fine program!
Truth is he knew he couldn’t qualify at Clemson, so he really had no choice.
Play for a good coach? Did SC fire Spurrier and hire a good coach? I missed that.
SC had one fair year in the last twenty last season and the chicken fans want to claim they are a top SEC program. SC will be happy to finish fourth in the SEC East! SC goes to the conference title game after beating exactly one team with a winning regular season record. Truly Pathetic!
BTW what is the ONLY SEC football team that has NEVER ever won a conference title? There is only one!
@jonkybon:
I’m sorry, did you say, “couldnt qualify?”
At Clemson? Really? We all appreciate your supporting your school and we all know youre upset at losing this prospect, but come on…let’s not lose our grip on reality.
11inthebox is right. If you have a pulse, you can qualify to get into Clemson. And it’s easy to find. North until you smell it. West until you step in it. Just ask any NCAA Rules official. They’ll direct you if you get lost. Go Carolina! You can’t lick our ‘Cocks!
Heck guys
the only reason you all had a chance at this kid was that it snows so much here in Nebraska that we cant get those Southern kids up here
Otherwise, they all wanna play for Pelini
Matters not, when we ever find an offense, nobody will be able to stop us
Now, where did we leave that offense
Don’t necessarily count on him getting to the NFL-just google how many #1 HS recruits DID NOT make it in the NFL-surprisingly more than you will think. Some even are busts when they go to college too.
So we will see-I wish him luck even though I could care less about South C…..BESIDES THERE IS REALLY ONLY ONE USC……
The University of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA…not this pathetic SEC pretender.
katanaguy–I googled the search term you specified, and here’s what I got: http://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+%231+HS+recruits+DID+NOT+make+it+in+the+NFL&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7ADRA_en
Could you maybe let me know which of those results will tell me?
burntorangehorn, Go to rivals.com and read below too.
try this link below-you will see a small tab in middle of page that says “more rankings” -you can check by year and by each position as well. Some were well known names that you never even hear about anymore.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/rankings/2002
This may surprise a lot of people (and especially Gamedick fans) but there has been a great deal of relief in Tuscaloosa did NOT choose to roll with the Tide.
Clowney is going to have serious academic problems. While almost everyone avers that he began trying hard in the middle of his junior year, it was too little too late. Apparently it was then that he realized the relationship between academics, college football, and the NFL. His grades are mostly D’s and he had missed so much of the basics that one teacher said, “To call him semi-literate would be a stretch.” Most of his teachers throughout school had just given him a D because they did not feel that re-taking the class would be an improvement.
While he would have probably been a great football player, Saban would never have been able to rely on him because of his inability to function as a legitimate college student, even with tutoring and lots of help.
What was worrying a lot of people was that the UA Athletic Dictatorship would lean on instructors to give him passing grades or try various well-known devices, such as having another student sit in for him in tests and ghost-write his papers. Lots of people at UA think it is the best thing for all not to even fool with the temptation.
There is already a huge amount of bad feelings between UA’s faculty and staff and the Athletic Department which does not consider itself a part of the University. Another semi-literate football player would just rub salt in open wounds. One little known Tide secret is that one of the reason so many Crimson players went pro this draft was because they had such poor grades that they were destined for academic probation anyway. (This also happened to Joe Namath.)
The Athletic Department had responded to the bad feelings between faculty and athletics by reducing the number of faculty tickets and exiling most of them to seats so bad that they couldn’t even be given away. They are threatening even more reductions this year. Bad move, Saban.
So it is considered by many to be a good thing that someone like Clowney is not even in the picture. It probably helps everyone at UA for it to be a Gamedick problem.
bobcat4424, all I read was, BOO-HOO we didn’t get Clowney.
As soon as I saw academics were an issue I knew he would choose USC. They have much more “flexible” acceptance policies regarding academics and behavior than Clemson, just look at their future convict quarterback. Best of luck to Clowney and the Cocks next year though!
For all you Gamecock haters…want some “whine” with your cheese????lol…..Gamecock Nation Welcomes Clowney!!!!
I personally have no ties to SEC schools, but I do have an old friend that is a professor at an SEC school.
He has told me through the years (and named big names to me too) of athletes getting away with academic murder in order to stay elgible-in all sports. He sometimes was pressured from the coaches to pass these students & once really had strong words with a well known current SEC football coach.
This happens everywhere I might add. I was a starter in a sport at a PAC 10 school & it was going on way back then. It will never cease-tooo much money involved….& the wealthy alums will no longer make contributions if the teams do not win.
What is sad that many of these kids graduate and they have learned NOTHING & sports is all over for them.
It’s want some cheese with your “whine”, moron.
11inthe box you failed on all points.
Clemsons academic standards are the highest in the state of SC. No student athlete has ever been enrolled that scored in the 500′s on his SATs as Clowney did. No student athlete has ever been admitted with a D average as Clowney had until his Sr year. Clowney is another chicken convict waiting to happen. Clowney would have been better off at SC State. There is a reason Spurrier signs 5-10 more prospects then he has scholarships to offer every year.
Clemson is not my school, but I have more respect for them then that overhyped has been coach and team at SC. SC fans are exactly like their chicken mascot. They crow early and find themselves stewed in the end. Still haven’t answered my question either. What is the only SEC football team that has NEVER ever won a conference Championship?
@bobcat4424, who says:
There is already a huge amount of bad feelings between UA’s faculty and staff and the Athletic Department which does not consider itself a part of the University.
———————————————-
You could substitute UA for just about any division 1 school in the country and have a pretty accurate statement.
@jonkybon:
And you have absolute proof of those records? I mean, youre saying that in the entire history of Clemson Athletics, there has never been a “special case?” Ever?
@jonkybon:
And you have absolute proof of those records? I mean, youre saying that in the entire history of Clemson Athletics, there has never been a “special case?” Ever?
________________________________
Proof No, but Clemson has for years rejected student athletes that fail to qualify academically. I would wager 100K that no Athlete in the last twenty years got into Clemson with the 500 SAT and D minus average that Clowney brings to the table.
He did spell his name correctly on his admission form, so he will qualify for SC’s Honors program. Too bad he didn’t fill the forms out himself.
jonkybon don’t make me laugh, USC led the SEC in football players that made the academic honor roll with 31 players this fall! GET REAL, I don’t know how many taters made honor roll this fall but I would bet good money they didn’t reach 31. I guess I would not bet as much as all those Clemson alums paid for a top ten recruiting class, but I would still pay good money. 29-7
jonkybon
Football
Williams-Brice Stadium
ACC Championship: 1 (1969)
SEC East Championship: 1 (2010)
Bowl Record: 4-11
Bowl Appearances: 15
Well I guess this is not the answer to your question that you were looking for, but USC has won a conference championship
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=6091766
not the past twenty years but still a bad and sad story of clemson athletics.
Gamecock fans get ready for Jevon Kearse 2.1: heck of a freak athlete that will leave town will little production.
this “Clowney” may try to live on his HS laurels at South C…apparantley he is dumber than a box of rocks form what I read about him..I hope this is not true…he needs academic help & South C is going to just use him up football wise & if he does not go on to the NFL he will be thrown away by them & forgotten about.
I am telling you all some of these schools just do not care after a kid can’t give them anything anymore..
What the dam_ media needs to learn is leave these kids alone-they are putting way too much pressure on them to be a super star!…when MOST are not ready for this ludicrous exposure.
I have learned to become a somewhat hater of all of our crazy, & ridiculous media……any one with me on this??
cockyspartan says:
Feb 14, 2011 9:15 PM
jonkybon
Football
Williams-Brice Stadium
ACC Championship: 1 (1969)
SEC East Championship: 1 (2010)
Bowl Record: 4-11
Bowl Appearances: 15
Well I guess this is not the answer to your question that you were looking for, but USC has won a conference championship
___________________________________
SC won a division title, not a Conference title in 2010. SEC is the conference, while the East is but a division. Nice try.
However I was not aware of the 69 ACC title. Therefore I must revise my question. Unfortunately despite winning many SWC titles, Ark is another SEC team that has never won an SEC football title.
cmc30250 says:
Feb 14, 2011 6:34 PM
jonkybon don’t make me laugh, USC led the SEC in football players that made the academic honor roll with 31 players this fall! GET REAL, I don’t know how many taters made honor roll this fall but I would bet good money they didn’t reach 31. I guess I would not bet as much as all those Clemson alums paid for a top ten recruiting class, but I would still pay good money. 29-7
__________________________________
WOW 1/3 of all SC football players made honor roll? I’d like to see proof of that. Sounds more like typical empty Crapolina bravado. Either that or it only takes a 0.5 GPA to make honor roll at SC.
Well jonky since you are confused I will enlighten you.
”Gamecocks top fall academic honor roll’: http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/19910/gamecocks-top-fall-academic-honor-roll
SEC 2010 honor roll:
http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/SECSPORTS/THESEC/IntheCommunity/tabid/924/Article/220252/2010-fall-sec-academic-honor-roll.aspx
A player has to have over a 3.00 GPA to make honor roll, which is an SEC-wide requirement, not a 0.5 GPA. In fact if a student has a 0.5 GPA they cannot participate in athletics, didn’t you know that? And 1/3 of any team making honor roll is impressive considering most players are only trying to get into the NFL. Your empty criticisms of USC academics and athletics have no proof nor merit and your ignorance facinates me please give me more!
I heard the main reason for going to Carolina was the players get really good rates on hotel rooms.