Spurrier Calls Clowney’s Work Ethic ‘Ok’

(WOLO) — Speaking on NFL Network’s “NFL AM” Wednesday, South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier praised Jadeveon Clowney, but also said his work habits were “pretty good” and “ok.” Spurrier said Clowney’s work habits in college didn’t compare to those of former Gamecock stand-outs Marcus Lattimore, Stephon Gilmore and Melvin Ingram. While Spurrier didn’t speak too highly of Clowney’s work ethic, he did have a lot of positives to say about his former defensive end, saying, “When the ball is snapped, yeah, he’s got something no one else has” and “when the ball is snapped, he’s got an explosion like you’ve never seen before.” Spurrier also defended Clowney’s lack of production in the 2013 season where he recorded only 40 tackles and three sacks, compared to 54 tackles and 12 sacks in 2012. “Even though his production this year wasn’t near what it was last year, he had two to three guys waiting on him just about every play,” Spurrier said. “His run defense was very good, though. He chased down a bunch of guys and made tackles. His sacks, he had to go around two and three guys just about every game.” Spurrier said every opponent, “Had a plan for him. Even if we move him to the right side or the middle, that guy back there would just follow him wherever he went and tried to double-team or triple-team and give his lineman help on just about every pass play.” Spurrier said Clowney “Can obviously get a little stronger. He’s only 20, I think, right now. He may be 21, I’m not sure. But he’s still got some room to muscle up a bit, but he’s, again, got that explosiveness that you don’t see very often. He’s a good team player. We didn’t win 11 games three years in a row, most in school history, because of any kind of issues and so forth.”