Best South Carolina football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore – From Rogers to Clowney
By Ethan Lee
Jadeveon Clowney
Jadeveon Clowney might just be the most talented person to have ever played football for the South Carolina Gamecocks. From 2011 through 2013, Clowney crashed through offensive lines and took down quarterbacks. He was arguably the best defender in college football during this timeframe.
And if you take a look through the South Carolina football record book, you’ll find Clowney’s name all over it.
The remarkably talented pass rusher leads the way in sacks in a game, tackles for loss in a season, sacks in a season and forced fumbles in a career. His career total of 47 tackles for loss in a career is second-best in South Carolina history while his total of 24 sacks is good for third-best in South Carolina history.
During the three seasons Clowney played for South Carolina, the Gamecocks had a record of 33-6. The Gamecocks won the Capital One bowl twice as well as the Outback Bowl during that span. Clowney’s dominance is one huge reason for all of that success.
As a freshman in 2011, he racked up 36 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss and eight sacks. In 2012, Clowney had a ridiculous total of 23.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks to go with a total of 54 tackles. His final season at South Carolina wasn’t as dominant as the two previous seasons, but Clowney still had 11.5 tackles for loss and three sacks as a junior.
Following his time in Columbia, Clowney went on to be drafted first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2014 NFL Draft.