Scouting Report: South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney
The hype stole his identity. It took his name and heightened it. It built his legacy before it started, pumping him up as an unstoppable, flawless force who could single-handedly change the game's landscape. Really, he was just a college football junior, and he was still learning to play the sport.
He wasn't Jadeveon Clowney anymore — he was the future Lawrence Taylor, the next Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end.
When the broadcasts rolled, every camera focused on South Carolina's No. 7. Replays showed his every move. Video cutups after the game highlighted him with circles and squares so critics wouldn't miss the chance to question if he was living up to the uncontrollable hype.
Why wasn't he running hard every play?
Why wasn't he disrupting the backfield every snap?
Why was he injured?
How could he be injured?
Two weeks before the draft, the media continues to drive the hype train. They talk about him being a once a generation talent because of his scale-breaking 4.53 40-yard dash at 6'5", 266 pounds, and his dominating power, which is repeatedly showcased with his helmet popping tackle against the University of Michigan.
They do this all without watching the film. It shows Clowney as a developing player whose rare skills need polishing. He needs a vocal, kick-ass defensive line coach who can teach first-rate fundamentals, such as how to keep his pad level down and keep his shoulders square if he's to blow by blockers inside or outside. This is what holds him back from being the monster that the media has created. He has the potential to be that, but he's not there yet.
He'll have to perfect at least one move to build on. His best bet is his bull-rush, a devastating double claw that rips through a blocker's heart. He's incredibly powerful, possessing the strength in his 10-inch hands to knock blockers off-balance or bully them into the backfield.
For all his power, though, he doesn't use the move consistently. He doesn't squat low enough, failing to bend his knees and power through his thighs and up his abdomen. He doesn't punish the blocker like he truly can because he doesn't have the leverage advantage.
It showed against Clemson. On one play with more than two minutes left in the second quarter, Clowney crouched over on all fours with his back flat, his right leg staggered and his eyes tilted inside looking at the ball.
When the center triggered the play, Clowney exploded forward like an MMA fighter going for a takedown before anyone moved on either side of the trenches. He took two long strides, lowered his left shoulder, and sunk his hands into the left tackle's chest. Upon contact he raised his shoulders, brought his knees back, and extended his legs, effectively ending his own bull-rush before it began. He pushed the blocker back a couple steps, but it wasn't enough. The blocker bent his knees, lowered his butt, and widened his legs, creating a firm base that no pass rusher — not even Clowney, the next BIG THING — could penetrate. Just like that, he was neutralized.
It's important that a pass rusher has a go-to move. Whether it's a speed-rush that tests the body's flexibility or a bull-rush that hammers the heart of offensive linemen, there has to be a foundation to build on and develop a counter move from.
Clowney appears to have a bull-rush that he can set as his foundation. He has the power to dominate pro blockers despite his callowness. He also has a counter move that he can build on and perfect: an arm-over.
It's one of the most dangerous moves in football, blending quickness, power and explosiveness: all skills Clowney has. He could learn from the J.J. Watt, who has nearly perfected the arm-over and could have the opportunity to teach Clowney the same if the defensive end is drafted No. 1 overall.
At times in his three years at South Carolina, Clowney showed the ability to jolt blockers with a heavy club and then swing his other arm over their head to explode past inside or outside of them. But like his bull-rush, he doesn't do it with the consistency that the media has falsely built up.
It showed on many plays throughout his career, including one against Wisconsin during his junior season.
Lined up in the same four-point stance as seen against Clemson, Clowney crossed the line of scrimmage first when the third-and-7 play began. He took a long right step straight and then a left that turned inside to the blocker, symmetrically splitting him. He raised his hands like he was bull-rushing, baiting the blocker into raising his arms, and then he slapped the blocker's left arm while also bringing his right arm over like a swimmer. When Clowney brought his right arm over, he exposed his chest, giving the blocker a chance to avoid embarrassment by punching him in the open area. This widened Clowney, knocking him off-balance and, worst of all, turning his shoulders away from the quarterback. He circled around the edge, falling two to three yards behind the quarterback and far from a sack.
Why a bull-rush and an arm-over for Clowney to focus on? The truth is, it's because he's not the type of rusher that can bend like a rubber band and stick his foot to explode inside to plant a quarterback. He's not as agile as his numbers show or the media say. He's not a pure speed rusher; He's a power rusher. He should build off his power and mix in his quick first step to set up the arm-over. He shows the ability to do this, as seen in the same game against Wisconsin.
On second-and-goal, Clowney turned his shoulders left to the rhythm of his steps as the play began. His first step was his left, his second was his right, a trap step that was set up to bait the left tackle into taking a foolish false step outside. The reality was that Clowney was eying the inside, where he could split the B-gap between the left tackle and guard with a devastating arm-over.
The left tackle took one step left in his stained white jersey and …
Clowney extended his arms from his hip area, bent his knees and exploded off his toes, simultaneously slapping the left tackle with his left hand and windmilling his right arm over. He powered through the guard, high-stepping into the backfield and pressuring the quarterback into an incompletion through the back of the end zone.
This was his potential. He could derail an entire play if he wanted to. All it takes is a little bit of coaching to polish his skills, which are not yet perfected.
This was what the media wanted. A play that they could plaster on their continuous highlight shows, replaying it over and over until viewers were brainwashed into thinking they were watching the next Lawrence Taylor. Never mind that Clowney was merely showing a hint of potential, a hint of what he could become once he married his raw skills with perfect technique.