Defensive end sat out Kentucky game with strained rib muscle
Junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney broke his silence after practice Tuesday, speaking to the media for the first time since he made the game-time decision to sit out Saturday’s win over Kentucky with a strained muscle near his ribs.
Clowney attempted to reassure Gamecock fans of his intentions, saying that accusations spread in the national media that he had chosen to sit out the season to protect his NFL draft stock were untrue.
And while he said his status for Saturday’s game at Arkansas is “questionable,” Clowney said he has not played his last game for South Carolina.
“Regardless of what people think, I’m here,” Clowney said. “I didn’t sit out [the season]. I could have sat out. I’m not looking to sit out. I’m not that type of guy; I’m here for the team.”
After coming out critical of Clowney in Saturday’s post-game press conference, coach Steve Spurrier cleared things up Tuesday.
Spurrier said he and his star player had miscommunicated and that everyone, including him, had “handled it poorly.”
Spurrier, along with several of Clowney’s teammates including junior wide-out Bruce Ellington, stood behind Clowney on Tuesday, suggesting that dissention in the locker room isn’t the issue many fans and national pundits suggested it might be.
“If he never plays another snap here, we all should be thankful and appreciative that he came to South Carolina,” Spurrier said.