Jadeveon Clowney has slightly pulled groin
Jadeveon Clowney runs the 40 yard dash during the 2014 NFL Combines at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina Gamecocks product Jadeveon Clowney obviously impressed everyone at his pro day, and hopefully everybody is beyond taking an incredibly obvious showcase environment at face value. And yes, I would have said the same thing about the top-ranked prospect if he flopped Teddy Bridgewater-style, because actual college tape is so much more valuable that it should render pro day performances useless. Still, pro days give us something interesting to talk about, and the one purpose they serve for elite prospects is as a vehicle for us to (usually) gush over just how athletic they are.
Some of us are also gushing over Clowney’s toughness, as The State’s Josh Kendall reports that he worked out with a “slight groin pull” today. There are predictably several people praising Clowney for his toughness, whereas others are bemoaning the fact that it’s yet another nagging injury for Clowney that we’re hearing about.
I think it would be naive to state that Clowney is the lone draft prospect who has worked out at his pro day through a minor injury, so it’s easy to exaggerate this either way. I guess the bright takeaway is that it shows Clowney won’t be impacted by small injuries that accumulate over the course of a rigorous rookie season, but there’s also a huge difference between a pro day workout and the gruel of a 16-game season that causes some rookies to hit a proverbial wall. It’s good to see that Clowney impressed us all through a minor injury, but I want to make it clear that nobody should take anything strong out of this news. Because with Clowney, it seems like everything is exaggerated, especially those stupid “work ethic concerns” and “sack total concerns” that just won’t go away.