Jadeveon Clowney, the nation's top college football recruit, announced on Monday he'll be attending South Carolina next fall, and that's notable because this fall, he had 162 tackles, 29.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 11 caused fumbles, 6 fumbles recoveries, 43 quarterback pressures and five defensive touchdowns this season. I mean, seriously. Good LORD.
And like all no. 1 recruits, the pursuit of this player became a game unto itself. A hilarious, cringe-inducing, occasionally scandalous game, co-starring Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, and a grown man named "Dabo."
It's all kinds of awesome, and Fox Sports has a pretty outstanding look inside the life of Jadeveon Clowney, and how crazy things got during the buildup to his decision.
Read the whole thing, but in the meantime, here's five of the best details you'll find in there.
1. I bet Texas fans just LOVE reading this:
Despite growing up in Gamecocks country, Clowney was a Texas fan, idolizing Longhorns stars such as Ricky Williams and Vince Young. Texas never recruited him, but he said he would have taken an official visit there if he had ever heard from the Longhorns.
2. JADEVEON HAS A COUSION NAMED JALAVENDER. AWESOME.
In early November, Clowney, his mother, father and an aunt drove to South Carolina, where they met up with his cousin, Jalavender Clowney. It was the first of three official visits Clowney took during his recruitment, but he had been on campus less than a month earlier and watched the Gamecocks’ upset of then-top-ranked Alabama.
3. A PG-rated version of his recruiting visit...
After the game, Gilmore, a junior, and other South Carolina players took Clowney out to a party until 1 a.m. "It’s wild in college," Clowney said. "Girls be all on you. They love football players up there. I was smiling and laughing about everything."
4. Yeah, Nick Saban needed to be taken down a peg.
In early December, Saban made his home visit with Clowney. The town was abuzz, with vehicles slowly streaming by Clowney’s mother’s house in hopes of catching a glimpse of the legendary coach. Inside, Clowney wasn’t that impressed.
"I don’t see no big deal like everybody else," he said later. "They’d say, ‘He’s the king of all of football.’ The guy ain’t nothing but 5-5. He’s a short guy. Everybody’s going crazy on Nick Saban."
"Nick Saban’s going to take over and talk," Clowney said. "He talked the whole time he was there. I was dozing off. He can talk. A lot. He talked for a whole straight hour."
5. Oh, man. Recruiting is just sad, isn't it?
"You see that class we’re picking up?" Clowney recalled [Clemson coach, Dabo] Swinney saying. "I hope you’re watching. We’re getting them all. No point in waiting. You might as well come. It’d be the happiest day of my life. I love you, Clowney. Come on."
But... ALL HAIL DABO!
BONUS: Really, though. Recruiting is just SAD, isn't it?
... That didn’t stop Florida State quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Dameyune Craig from trying his best to entice Clowney. "I don’t know if you’re going to come down here to see us or if you’re coming down for the girls, because we got ’em," Clowney recalled Craig telling him.