Is Kennard the best DE USC has ever had?

Oct 8, 2022
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Im not joking. Hes in the discussion as possibly our best DE ever. He looks like a quicker Clowney. This guy portalled from Ga Tech and made himself a 1st rounder
 
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HI Cock1

Joined Oct 14, 2012
Jan 22, 2022
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Im not joking. Hes in the discussion as possibly our best DE ever. He looks like a quicker Clowney. This guy portalled from Ga Tech and made himself a 1st rounder
Unless Kenard is the 1st pick in the draft, nope.
 
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HI Cock1

Joined Oct 14, 2012
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Man I love Clowney so this isnt a knock at all on him, actually an honor for Kennard to be compared to him, but if we had Kennard for 3 years, would be be as dominant as Clowmey was? What a jackpot transfer land this guy has been
I asked a question in the game thread, "Why wasn't Kennard so dominant in the ACC?" There's a culture piece here... and the fact that we have a 5* guy at the other end. Taking nothing away from Kennard, who is minting $$$ this year, he's not as dominant as Clowney.
 

Beanerball

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I think Melvin Ingram and Javon Kinlaw would have something to say about that, but he is definitely disruptive, right up there with those guys.
 

KingWard

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He's on pace to break Clowney's season sack record here. Not sure how many he had today.
Probably only one. I heard it said that all nine of our sacks were by different players. That seems impossible to me, but I didn't start the rumor.
 

18IsTheMan

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Jan 19, 2022
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Probably only one. I heard it said that all nine of our sacks were by different players. That seems impossible to me, but I didn't start the rumor.
That sounds implausible. Has there been a game where 9 different players got sacks? Insane.
 

Lakemurraycock

Joined Sep 28, 2003
Jan 20, 2022
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Hard to compare. Clowney was very disruptive and everyone knew it. So our opponents would always double team him and have backup blockers for him. This opened it up for the rest of the defense at the expense of Clowney's stats. Especially in his first year he had to come out some due to conditioning. Both are awesome!!
 

vacock

Joined Oct 26, 1998 • Garnet Trust Supporter
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I’m probably wrong but it looked like Clowney “paced himself” or took plays off. That’s understandable because he had a tremendous burst of energy when he got his sacks so he couldn’t do that every down.
 
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FlebusJones

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Clowney is a freak of nature. He played some running back in high school and was the fastest guy on the field so I have read. His athleticism was off the charts (still good but has dropped; he's now 31 yo). In his last year at Carolina, he was immediately double teamed and often chip blocked on every pass play so his sacks and stats fell off. He didn't have a Dylan Stewart type talent opposite him to limit double and triple teams.

In his first season in the NFL after being drafted #1, he had a meniscus tear in his knee and had microsurgery. Some thought he would never play again and it probably slowed him some in his career. Now he has been in the league 10 years.

Kennard will be a solid NFL edge and likely first rounder pick but the question is how consistent can he be and can he escape the injury bug. We are damn fortunate to have him. Beamer truly pulled a rabbit out of the hat in signing both Kennard and Rattler among others.
 
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Oct 8, 2022
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I’m probably wrong but it looked like Clowney “paced himself” or took plays off. That’s understandable because he had a tremendous burst of energy when he got his sacks so he couldn’t do that every down.
Thats one of his only flaws, and Kennard seems to be full throttle every second of every play. Either way, what a blessing to have had both of them at USC!
 
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KingWard

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I’m probably wrong but it looked like Clowney “paced himself” or took plays off. That’s understandable because he had a tremendous burst of energy when he got his sacks so he couldn’t do that every down.
He basically took about half of his final season off. Of course, I'm sure he was getting outside advice on that.
 
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