Is Jadeveon Clowney Making the Right Decision to Postpone Foot Surgery?
By Barrett Sallee , SEC Football Lead Writer
Sep 15, 2013
As it turns out, maybe South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney isn't 100 percent after all.
The junior standout had four tackles and a sack in the Gamecocks' 35-25 win over Vanderbilt in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday night, but that wasn't the big story.
Clowney told reporters following the game that he will undergo surgery after the season to remove bone spurs from his right foot.
"It's painful," Clowney said according to Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. "I'm out here playing on it, though, so I'm just trying to give everything I've got on it. Who knows what's going to happen out there? It doesn't really bother me when I am out there much. It's just builds up pain. The more I keep going on it, the more it bothers me."
Clowney's foot has caused him problems in the past, including last season when it forced him out of the Gamecocks' win over Wofford in November. But head coach Steve Spurrier had no idea it was this serious, according to Ryan Wood of the Charleston (S.C) Post and Courier.
Ryan Wood @rwood_SC
Spurrier on Clowney's foot: "If we had known he needed surgery in the offseason, he would've gotten it."
1:05 PM - 15 Sep 2013
So what should Clowney do?
Obviously he wants to help his team win and get back to the SEC Championship Game, which has eluded him during his first two seasons with the program. But the sure-fire No. 1 draft pick has to keep his future in mind.