Jadeveon Clowney Should Play

An article has recently been written suggesting that all-everything defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney, should sit out his upcoming junior season before entering the NFL draft in 2014. The article argues that because Clowney will be the number one overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, that he should not risk a career-threatening injury by playing his junior season. While I understand the thought process behind the argument, the idea is completely ridiculous. When Clowney committed to the University of South Carolina prior to the 2011 season, he signed up to play at least 3 years of college football. By sitting out his junior season, Clowney would by sending a terrible message in several ways. First, Clowney should play his junior season because he still can get better. Yes, Clowney will likely be the first player taken in the 2014 NFL draft, but he can still work on skills during practices and games. While playing in the South Eastern Conference, Clowney will continue to develop his talents against some of the nation’s best players. Second, Clowney shouldn’t sit out his junior year because he should want to play. Anyone that is considering playing football as a profession should want to play whenever he has the chance. Choosing not to play will make people seriously question his desire to have a long NFL career. Third, by sitting out during his junior season, Clowney will appear to be a selfish player. Clowney owes it to his teammates at South Carolina to compete with them. Clowney should want to help his team win a SEC championship or even a BCS national championship. Fourth, by sitting out his junior season, Clowney will appear to have a lack of character and dedication to NFL executives. If I was a NFL executive, I would have hesitations on drafting Clowney with the first overall selection after sitting out a year. It would raise a red flag, and make me question where his heart is at. If Clowney would be willing to sit out an entire season for fear of getting hurt, then why wouldn’t he sit out during training camp, practice, preseason games, or even meaningless regular season games (when his team is eliminated from playoff contention)? Lastly, Clowney should play his junior year because nobody knows if he will get hurt. Clowney has played two seasons without a major injury, and could easily play another. In addition, a career-threatening injury can happen at any time and anywhere. Clowney could suffer an injury while training, weight lifting, playing a pick-up basketball game, or by any other freak accident. The possibilities are endless, and while sitting out his junior season would prevent any on-the-field injury, it will not prevent every possible injury from occurring. I believe that Jadeveon Clowney should and will play his junior season, but the fact that this is even a discussion in the minds’ of some sports analysts and columnists is very disheartening to say the least.

-Eric Tichelbaut