The Clowney chase is on.
And what a massive chase it's already become.
Jadeveon Clowney (Rock Hill, S.C./South Pointe) is an Under Armour All-America and ESPNU 150 Watch List defensive end who is attracting interest from literally all across the country.
His head coach at South Pointe, Bobby Carroll, who's coached three NFL first-round draft picks, said Monday afternoon he's never seen anything like it.
Why all the fuss?
Check out some numbers. The kid is 16-years-old, stands 6-foot-6, weighs 245 pounds, runs a 4.48 40, power cleans 300 pounds and racked up 24 sacks last fall as a junior despite being double- and triple-teamed.
And, oh, just FYI, but as a 6-foot-3 freshman in 2007 he scored 30 touchdowns.
"I've never seen a pass rusher like him," Carroll told Crimson Confidential. "Some coaches are saying he's tops in the nation."
And how does Clowney stack up against the NFL first-rounders Carroll's coached in the past?
"This kid is in that class, maybe a step above them," he said. "He's the most prolific high school player out there. Coach (Nick) Saban knows about him. He's seen him on film. Pretty much every school has."
Carroll said he wishes now he had started keeping a log of the schools that have descended on South Pointe just to learn more about this rare talent. Notre Dame. Miami. Michigan. Penn State. The list goes on.
Name a big-time school. You can bet they're after Clowney.
"He probably gets more mail than President Obama," Carroll said.
Of course, Alabama, which has become a recruiting machine since Saban arrived in 2007, is all over Clowney, too. The Tide got a little bit of a late start, Carroll said, because of the Tide's involvement in the SEC Championship Game and BCS title game, but it's definitely in the chase now.
Burton Burns is the assistant coach recruiting Clowney for Alabama, and he's apparently made a favorable impression so far.
"I've known him for a long time," Carroll said of Burns. "Coach Burns is ...
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