Marcus Lattimore: What made Jadeveon Clowney a Gamecock great
This past weekend, Jadeveon Clowney became the fifth Gamecock in South Carolina history to have his jersey retired in football.
On the outside looking in, it’s easy to see why he became the talent that he was. He was, and remains, freakishly gifted. But on the newest episode of the podcast series “BLEAV in South Carolina” with me, Marcus Lattimore, and Nick Klos on the BLEAV Network, Lattimore shared that it’s not just because he could move like a dear standing at 6-6, 275 pounds.
“Fun. He never stopped having fun,” said Lattimore, who was teammates with Clowney from 2011-12. “In the NFL he described that it’s more of a business now. That was kind of telling to me when you look back on his career. In high school, I saw him up-close when we scrimmaged him and he had seven sacks in a quarter. In college, obviously. He always had fun. Had fun at practice, in the games, in the locker room. He played football because it was fun for him. When you never lose that element of yourself you end up being great at it. You just fall into greatness. That’s what he was, that word. And he made it fun for all of us.”
Clowney was a two-time All-American in his three seasons at South Carolina, including earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2012. He also still holds the program record for the most tackles for loss in a season (23.5) as well as sacks (13).
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“Anybody I come in contact with always ask me who the best player I’ve ever seen. I’ve been around Patrick Willis. I’ve seen Peyton Manning live. Jadeveon Clowney as a tenth-grader is the best player I’ve ever been around. Greatest talent that I’ve ever seen. One of the funniest humans you’ll ever be around too. They’ll never be another Jadeveon Clowney.”
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For anyone that feels Clowney is a one-hit-wonder, Lattimore agrees.
“He’s a one-hit-wonder alright. The number one (ranked) overall high school player and then the number one overall (NFL Draft) pick. Yeah, that’s a one-hit-wonder.”
As far as who Lattimore believes the next Gamecock who should have their jersey retired goes, that’s easy.
“How can you not go with Connor Shaw. To argue with that is like arguing with a brick wall. The dude is the winningest quarterback in school history. Never lost a game at home. That’s who would be next for me if I’m on that committee. Simply because of that stat and because he did it with class.”
