Interesting question about Jadeveon Clowney and next year. Obviously he will most likely be the top pick in next year's NFL draft. That's the case whether on not he plays next year. The only thing that would probably prevent that from happening is a serious injury. So after watching teammate Marcus Lattimore go down twice with serious injuries and seeing his draft potential plummet, would Clowney be safer to sit out next season? http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jadevon-clowney-wait-another-nfl-005012861--nfl.html
I saw Mike and Mike debating this earlier today. This is just ridiculous. If the kid sits out a year, why not remove the draft restrictions? Lost in the translation of sports reporter hyperbole is the reality of the game. Clowney is an amazing athlete. That hit did change the landscape of the game and showcased all of his super talents. At the same time, he was swallowed up for almost that entire game until that point. If you read the breakdown of that play, it was a missed call by the OT who had been handling him all day. That was a great matchup of 2 future NFL talents. One kid made a bad read and released Clowney to a double with the guard inside who wasn't there. In the NFL, those aren't just NFL talents. Those are NFL players. Guys who make that bad read are holding clipboards the first time and unemployed the next time. There's such a huge jump. Personally, I think the kid needs next season. Where do we draw the line on this? Take the absurdity of college signing day and having the top flight 5 star players waiting to declare for the NFL instead? What message does this send to South Carolina who gave the kid this opportunity? This is just stupid all the way around.
Clowney could indeed probably benefit from next season but if he is guaranteed a top 3 slot in the draft even if he sat out......he sits out and pays his own tuition to attend school and work on his degree. You can't duplicate that kind of NFL millions very easily and who knows what Lattimore has lost to injury. When I saw Lattimore in person when he was a freshman he was unstoppable..... a surefire NFL top back. If there is any any doubt now due to his injuries that's a tragedy for him.
Corey, I had the same reaction.....Clowney was clearly outplayed virtually the entire game by the M tackle. Somebody misses an assignment, Clowney comes through unblocked and suddenly nobody is wondering where he was all game......in truth, Clowney made the highlight reel, but NFL scouts look at more than one play.....the M left tackle made alot of money himself that day, imho
I think that the NFL is wise in trying to have the rule it does. There have been a number of "can't miss" HS kids who tried to go straight from HS to the NBA. They don't know how to live on their own. They don't know how to buy food, cook it, get their laundry done etc. For a few it's possible but for more than that it's a struggle if not outright disaster. At least if they're in college a year, they learn to live away from mom and be somewhat on their own. The NFL doesn't want to end up being a babysitter like the NBA became. I don't blame them.
if a kid is that afraid of getting hurt, if you're an NFL franchise, you have to question his heart. Further, you have to wonder... 'what is he hiding?' Does this kid have glass knees? Did he take a shot somewhere that leaves him passing physicals, but is now wondering about his clock as a player? I don't think this Clowney kid is behind this. From what I've seen, this is just speculation mostly by people who didn't play the game. If this were coming from him, I wouldn't touch him without a contract that was back end loaded with out clauses for injuries and conduct covering page to page. BT, Agreed. That kid bought himself and his mother a nice car that day.
Talked about that Monday on local drive time sports. IMHO opinion if the kid takes a year off for that reason he has no heart, he's letting his teammates at So. Carolina down and I would hope that So. Carolina would pull his scholarship. If you are a football player you play football, this isn't a salary dispute where you sit out, it's just being afraid to play.
No confusion Dave. IF it were him, I'd question his heart. Since it's not, it's just about of jackasses who never played the game... There are those with heart and those without. Period. You can get a Keyshawn, or you can get something better.
BT is correct. He had a total of 5 tackles against UM and caused no turnovers. Pretty pedestrian game. The big hit came on a play where he was not touched. For the season he had 42 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 12 games. Those are hardly jaw dropping stats.
Glad all of you are wealthy beyond belief.....have no monetary needs. Seriously.....I said if he was guaranteed top 3 in the draft....guaranteed. Top 3 in the draft is 20 million dollars or more......huge bucks. Now if by not playing it was a consensus of the NFL that maybe he drops to the 2nd round etc. etc. then the "guarantee" is off and he should play at SC next season. Ask Lattimore if he wants you gambling with his money.... :wink:
I never said anything about money. My point was that he needs to hone his craft. he's good but he is not dominating like Suh was at Nebraska. Stephon Tuitt of ND had 47 tackles and 12 sacks in comparison. Should he sit out too?
Another entry for the theatre of the absurd. How in the world could you possibly conclude that a player who voluntarily sat out a season would be drafted in the first round much less "guaranteed" to be a top 3 pick? "But I'm saying....what if?" Unbelievable!
Well Dave will just drive us all nuts with his hypothetical hyperbolic ******** what ifs. The bottom line is.. the answer is no. The kid wasn't talking about this, it's all talking heads like Greenie on ESPN who don't know the first thing about sports. Let this idiotic topic die.