As soon as South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier suggested, earlier this week, that Jadeveon Clowney might miss a season opener against North Carolina with a minor shoulder ailment, doubts were raised about the sincerity of the comment.
There had to be something more to it. Indeed, there was.
Spurrier was displeased that Clowney and a couple of injured teammates spent a practice goofing around the locker room rather than watching practice, as injured players are required to do. But the head coach put the blame on himself.
"They didn't know they were supposed to be out here watching practice. Now they know, they're going to be out here watching practices. We had a communication problem and now we're ready to go," Spurrier said. "They're out here doing something. So they weren't in the locker room jiving around playing on their cell phones like they were (Monday) night. And that's my fault. They said, 'Coach, nobody told us we had to be out there.' So I'm the dummy, not them."
Spurrier can fall on his coaching sword, but it's a little difficult to imagine Clowney was unaware of such a simple and common rule. One is left to presume that of all the injured players a healthy Clowney has noticed on the practice sideline over the last two years, he thought they were there voluntarily.
Crisis averted, anyway, Gamecocks fans.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
