Jadeveon Clowney of South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, S.C., is the No. 1 player on the Press-Register Super Southeast 120. (Rock Hill Herald/Melissa Cherry)
When Jadeveon Clowney stepped onto the football field as a freshman at South Pointe High in Rock Hill, S.C., his coaches put him at running back.
"The first day I ever saw him, he was a freshman and he was 6-3, 200 pounds," said South Pointe coach Bobby Carroll. "He was kind of like a newborn colt -- all legs and arms -- but he wasn't clumsy.
"We put him at tailback, and a lot of people don't know this, but he scored 36 touchdowns in ninth-grade football. He never played junior varsity. We moved him straight to varsity as a 10th-grader."
In the three years since, Clowney has gotten even bigger -- and so has his reputation.
Now 6-foot-6 and nearly 250 pounds, Clowney is the top college football prospect in the country, a freakishly athletic defensive end who racked up 171 tackles, 291/2 sacks and 11 forced fumbles in 15 games in 2010.
And he hasn't forgotten his days as a running back, scoring nine touchdowns in spot duty on offense this season.
"He's all he's hyped up to be, man," Carroll said of Clowney, who has been clocked as fast as 4.48 in the 40-yard dash. "You've got to hold him, you really do. You've got to run away from him or sprint towards him. And there's a good chance if you run away from him, he's going to chase you down because he's just so fast."
Vigor coach Kerry Stevenson, who coached Clowney as a defensive line coach in the Under Armour All-America Game earlier this month, watched Clowney do just that -- twice. Left unblocked on a zone read going away from him in practice, he ran down blue-chip Columbus (Ga.) running back Isaiah Crowell from behind in the backfield. Then he did the same thing to speedy Clemson commitment Mike Bellamy in the game.
"He's amazing -- 6-6, long arms, explosive first step," Stevenson said. "He'll be an all-pro for a long time in the NFL. He's a special, special kid."
But tell Clowney he's the No. 1 prospect on the Press-Register's newly updated Super Southeast 120 -- as well as the country, according to all three major recruiting services -- and he doesn't particularly want to hear it.
"I try to pay it no attention," Clowney said. "I leave that No. 1 stuff alone. They always blow it up in my face and I'm like, 'Chill.' I don't like it too much."
In fact, while acknowledging his strengths, Clowney focuses on what he considers his weaknesses.
"I've got one of the best takeoffs around for a defensive end, but I've got to get stronger, keep building up my strength, and (keep) my speed, learn some more moves off the line," he said. "It'll take me farther."
Where he'll take those pass-rush moves is what recruitniks are interested in hearing now, as Clowney takes one of the country's most ardently awaited decisions right down to National Signing Day on Feb. 2. The battle for his signature has long been considered a two-horse race between South Carolina and Alabama, but Clowney said earlier this month he's still interested in checking out Florida State and LSU.
Alabama upped the ante by hiring former Clemson defensive ends coach Chris Rumph, with whom Clowney has become close. Clowney canceled his visit to Clemson after the news of Rumph's hiring broke and admitted after the Under Armour game that the move helped the Crimson Tide's chances.
"They've got a good defense, if not the top defense in the SEC, I think," said Clowney, who is on his official visit to Tuscaloosa this weekend. "I like them a lot."
Clowney said he has no preference between playing Jack linebacker, as he would at Alabama, and defensive end, as he likely would at South Carolina. He said his decision will come down to "how I feel at the school -- if I feel at home with the other players and everything."
At least one former NFL coach feels Clowney's future could be unbridled if the level of his work ethic matches the level of his talent.
"He's got so much great potential," said former San Francisco 49ers coach Steve Mariucci, who served as the head coach of Clowney's Red team at the Under Armour game. "The sky's the limit for the guy, but there's a lot of work to do. I think he's willing to do that, so I'm expecting good things from him in college next year."
