South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney ranked as one of Rivals' top five-star prospects since 2000

On Monday, Rivals unveiled its list of the top 32 five-star prospects in recruiting rankings history since the year 2000. According to the story associated with the ranking, this list’s rankings combine a “player’s prep accolades, recruiting hype, college career, and their NFL Draft slot.”

Of the more than 500 possible five-star players to choose from, one South Carolina Gamecock cracked Rivals’ list. That player was defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. Ranked No. 1 overall in the class of 2011, Clowney slots in as Rivals’ No. 6 overall five-star since 2000. He trails only running back Reggie Bush (No. 1; Helix/Southern Cal), quarterback Vince Young (No. 2; Madison/Texas), running back Adrian Peterson (No. 3; Palestine/Oklahoma), quarterback Tim Tebow (No. 4; Nease/Florida), and quarterback Cam Newton (No. 5; Westlake/Florida/Blinn/Auburn).

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Here’s what Rivals had to say about the South Carolina football legend:

“Before there was Myles Garrett, there was Clowney — a mold-breaker of a defensive end at the high school level. As a freshman, he stood at 6’3 and 200 pounds. During his sophomore season, he helped South Pointe to a 15-0 record, and he finished with 17 sacks despite playing nearly the whole year with a bone spur in his foot. Over the course of his final two seasons, he notched more than 300 tackles and 52.5 sacks. He was later featured on the cover of ESPN the Magazine. As a recruit, he was the consensus top player in the class and committed to the Gamecocks over Clemson, LSU, Alabama, Florida State, and others. At the college level, he made an immediate impact by totaling eight sacks as a freshman. By the time his three-year career ended, he had 47 tackles for loss and 24 sacks in three seasons before being selected by the Houston Texans No. 1 overall. His pro career has been full of peaks and valleys, as he has now played with six different teams in his 11 seasons.”

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Clowney is the highest-ranked player ever to sign with South Carolina. According to at least one major recruiting outlet, he is the highest-rated player ever in the history of recruiting rankings.

During his South Carolina playing days, Clowney set or approached numerous Gamecock records. His 4.5 sacks against Clemson in 2012 are the most in a single game in team history. (They are also the most by any player in Clemson’s Memorial Stadium.) His 23.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks that season remain program records. Despite playing just three years and playing his junior season hurt, Clowney finished his time in garnet and black second on the team’s all-time list for tackles for loss (47) and third on the list for sacks (24). Clowney trails fellow Gamecock greats Eric Norwood in both categories and Andrew Provence in sacks. He also owns the USC career mark for forced fumbles (nine) and freshman sacks (eight).

Clowney made the Freshman All-American team in 2011 before making back-to-back All-American squads in 2012 and 2013. He was the No. 1 overall pick of the Houston Texans in the 2014 NFL Draft.

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