South Carolina defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney is widely considered to be the best player in college football, and he’s only entering his sophomore season. Since Clowney is already NFL-ready, Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer proposed the idea last month that he should sit out the upcoming season to avoid injury.
It sounds like a crazy idea, but a number of people have hopped on board. Clowney isn’t one of them.
“My mom was the first person who called me and was like ‘I hope you ain’t talking about doing something crazy like this,'” Clowney said during an interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi. “Nobody would like me here. I’m not leaving school. I don’t really think I’m taking a big risk. You can get hurt anywhere. I could get in a car accident on any given day outside of football. I could trip over a curb and tear my ACL.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old, playing football. If this is my time to get hurt, it’s my time to get hurt. I’m just gonna play like I’ve been playing.”
Clowney isn’t the first player to dominate his freshman season to the point where he would already be a first-round draft choice. It has happened before, and it will happen again. All players have to worry about a serious injury that could jeopardize their professional career. If Clowney chose to sit out, he’d be letting down his South Carolina teammates and coaches. Not to mention, he wouldn’t be doing much to help his Q-score.
I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m thrilled Clowney has committed to playing in 2013. We need to see more incredible hits like this.
