South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney aggravated the bone spurs in his foot that will require surgical removal after the season in the Gamecocks' 19-14 win over Florida.
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Gamecocks defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said that Clowney's injury "is going to continue to bother him until he gets the bone spurs cleaned out after the season," according to a tweet from Josh Kendall of The State newspaper.
Despite the injury, the star junior, who is expected to turn pro early after the season, made two big plays in a defensive struggle with the Gators. Clowney recorded two tackles for loss for minus-9 yards among his five stops. However, he was limping on the sideline late in the game, and, according to the Twitter feed of The State's David Cloninger, limped off the field after the game.
Clowney addressed the injury briefly in this video clip, published post-game by gogamecocks.com, noting that he is playing in a lot of pain but is trying to "fight through it":
Clowney, a top pro prospect, still has just two sacks on the season. With third-string quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg pressed into action, however, the Gators didn't give Clowney any more pass-rushing opportunities than necessary. Mornhinweg attempted just 13 passes for the game.
Clowney now has 8.5 tackles for loss on the year.
If he declares early draft eligibility, he is not expected to recover from the bone spur surgery quickly enough to be a full participant in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
