Former Gamecocks star Jadeveon Clowney has jokes for Clemson on return visit
Practicing in your old college rival’s stadium might bug some NFL players.
Not Jadeveon Clowney.
Speaking Thursday after the Carolina Panthers held an intrasquad scrimmage at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, Clowney, the former South Carolina football star, was all smiles as he talked about returning to Death Valley ... for obvious reasons.
“It’s always fun when you win,” Clowney said. “I had no problem coming back because I know what happened here when I was here. So it’s all good.”
While playing for the Gamecocks and coach Steve Spurrier, Clowney’s South Carolina teams were a perfect 3-0 against coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson.
And in his sole game in Death Valley before turning pro after his junior season, Clowney set a Memorial Stadium opponent record with 4.5 sacks in a 2012 win.
Twelve years later, that record still stands — and made for a funny contrast as Clowney, 31, a former No. 1 overall draft pick now entering his 11th NFL season and first with his hometown Panthers, took a return visit.
Clowney and the Panthers practiced at Clemson on Thursday for their annual fan fest event to commemorate their 1995 inaugural season, when the Panthers played their home games at Memorial Stadium while their permanent Charlotte stadium was still being constructed, and 30th season overall.
“I had a good time,” Clowney said, laughing.
Earlier Thursday, the Panthers visited Clemson’s indoor practice facility, where Clowney had a chance to catch up with Swinney, who’s come a long way from losing five straight games to South Carolina (including three to Clowney) from 2009-13.
And still remembers his efforts to get Clowney, the No. 1 recruit in the country coming out of Rock Hill’s South Pointe High School in 2011, to choose the Tigers instead of the Gamecocks.
“Finally got Clowney to Clemson,” Swinney, who’s now entering his 16th season as coach and has won two national championship, joked Thursday.
Clowney, still considered the best modern-era high school football recruit ever according to 247Sports’ rankings since 2000, also reflected on his recruiting process Thursday and had some kind words for Swinney and Clemson.
“They probably have one of the best recruiting setups when you come down and hang out with the team,” Clowney said. “Dabo Swinney and his staff set it up very nice. That’s how they get all these guys to commit.”
The only problem for Clowney in his own recruitment?
“That it was here,” he said. “I wasn’t really feeling more country. I’d just left (Rock Hill). So I said I’m gonna go try that little city down there in Columbia.”
Clowney quickly became a legend at South Carolina and is widely regarded as one of the Gamecocks’ best ever football players. He was a two-time All American, won the Ted Hendricks Award as the country’s top defensive end in 2012 and helped Spurrier’s USC teams go 11-2 three years in a row.
Clowney, who had his jersey retired by South Carolina last fall, also handed out arguably the most iconic hit in college football history when he burst through Michigan’s offensive line and hit a running back so hard his helmet popped off in the 2012 Outback Bowl.
On Thursday, he made sure to mention his spotless 3-0 record against the Tigers, too, which preceded him going No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans in the 2014 NFL Draft.
A decade removed from his last college game against Clemson, though, Clowney was complimentary of what Swinney’s built at the school during his tenure.
“I’ve got big love for Dabo,” Clowney said. “He’s got a couple of my guys like (Chris) Rumph, who recruited me. It’s just crazy to come back at this time and see them guys still doing it at a high level. They’re having good seasons here, still.”
Asked later if any of his family members from Rock Hill area attended Thursday’s event, he took one more jab for the road.
“Nah, they didn’t wanna drive,” he said. “They’d go to Columbia, though.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 12:10 PM.
