Former South Carolina football player Jadeveon Clowney will have his No. 7 jersey number retired during a ceremony at halftime of the Gamecocks' season opener against Georgia State at Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 3, according to a release from the USC.
Clowney, the 2012 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time first-team All-American and All-SEC selection, will join Sterling Sharpe, Steve Wadiak, George Rogers and Mike Johnson as former South Carolina football players to have their jerseys retired.
"We are excited to honor one of our greatest Gamecock football players ever, Jadeveon Clowney, by retiring his jersey at our first game of the season," athletics director Ray Tanner said in a release. "He helped lead us to three 11-win seasons as one of the best players in college football."
As a member of the Gamecocks, Clowney tallied 129 total tackles, 47 tackles for loss, 24 sacks and nine forced fumbles from 2011-13. After winning SEC Freshman of the Year in 2011, he set South Carolina single-season records in tackles for loss (23.5) and sacks (13) on his way to winning the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end and being named an unanimous All-American in 2012.
Clowney went on to become South Carolina's second No. 1 overall NFL Draft selection when he was picked by the Houston Texans in the opening round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
He has since played for the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans and currently plays for the Cleveland Browns. Over his NFL career, he has registered 292 total tackles, 41 sacks and 12 forced fumbles and has been named to three Pro Bowls in addition to a second-team All-Pro selection in 2016.