A South Carolina Gamecock legend was snubbed from the top 25 college football players since 2000 list.
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman recently released an article ranking the 25 best college football players since the year 2000. There was some all-time greats who made the list. Names like Cam Newton, Reggie Bush and Sean Taylor. But there was a former South Carolina Gamecock who was notably missing.
Jadeveon Clowney is certainly a college football legend, especially from this era of the sport. He did not make Feldman's list but there is an argument that he should have. Some defensive linemen that did make the list were Julius Peppers, Aaron Donald, Chase Young and Ndamukong Suh. All deserving names but a category that it seems like Clowney fits in.
For example, Young finished his college career with 99 tackles, 30.5 sacks and 43 tackles for loss. His best season was in 2019 when he finished with 46 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks. Clowney on the other hand finished his college career with 129 tackles, 48 tackles for loss and 24 sacks. His best season was in 2012 when he finished with 54 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Both players played for three years and both put up fantastic numbers.
That's not to see Clowney is better than Young or vice versa, but more so that Clowney could have certainly taken a spot on this list, especially considering those numbers landed Young 16th overall on the list.
At the very least, Clowney is certainly one of the greatest Gamecocks to ever grace the football field, and is certainly one of the greatest college football players of this century.
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