Jadaveon Clowney's Freakish Combo of Size & Speed Nearly Identical to #1 Pick in 2000 - By godofwine
As the football world fawns over what Jadaveon Clowney did at the combine last weekend I began to think of a similar freakish athlete. Not even 15 years ago a size/speed phenom by the name of Courtney Brown, nicknamed "The Quiet Storm," dominated the college football landscape. At 6'4 7/8" 271 pounds, comparable to Jadaveon Clowney's 6'5 1/4" 266 pounds, Brown was described by the legendary Bill Walsh, who was the 49'ers GM at the time, as a "Lawrence Taylor-type player." No one that big was supposed to be that fast.
Though without Clowney's signature helmet jarring hit to raise pulses around the world during his college career, Brown was thought to be the can't miss prospect with 13.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss during the 1999 college football season. At the Penn State pro day Brown ran a 4.52 seconds forty-yard dash, had a vertical leap of 37. Now, 14 years later comes a prospect of similar size and mind-blowing combine numbers. Clowney's hand-timed 4.47 and official 4.53 along with his 37.5" vertical jump were almost mirrored Brown's.
Can't miss, right?
Wrong.
When Dee Ford compared Clowney to to a blind dog in a meat market, that statement more accurately fit Brown's NFL career, with the difference being that there wasn't bad tape on Brown during his final college season, nor did he have a reputation for taking plays off. Courtney Brown said and did all of the right things during the pre-draft rounds including, "Yes sirs" and "No sirs" which had every NFL personnel man believing that this was a dream prospect.
So what is different? There is a stark contrast in demeanor between Brown and Clowney to be considered. Brown had stoic down pat years before Eli Manning while Clowney was more outwardly passionate and excitable as he rampaged through college football two years ago. The "Quiet Storm" never seemed able to do more than rustle up a few dark clouds on the field in the NFL finishing his career with a paltry 19 total sacks in an injury plagued six years. Clowney's final college season seemed to mirror Brown's actual NFL production managing a mere 3 sacks all year.
Jadaveon Clowney's NFL career is an unwritten mystery, but it should behoove anyone who remembers the large man who ran faster than receivers and running backs in the 2000 pre-draft workouts to pump the breaks a little bit. Great size and speed in the Underwear Olympics don't always translate to NFL success and teams should at least consider last season's tape on Clowney to find out whether that blind dog in a meat market actually wants to hunt or if his performance last year was an aberration.
Site referenced
http://a.espncdn.com/nfl/s/profile/cbrown.html
As the football world fawns over what Jadaveon Clowney did at the combine last weekend I began to think of a similar freakish athlete. Not even 15 years ago a size/speed phenom by the name of Courtney Brown, nicknamed "The Quiet Storm," dominated the college football landscape. At 6'4 7/8" 271 pounds, comparable to Jadaveon Clowney's 6'5 1/4" 266 pounds, Brown was described by the legendary Bill Walsh, who was the 49'ers GM at the time, as a "Lawrence Taylor-type player." No one that big was supposed to be that fast.
Though without Clowney's signature helmet jarring hit to raise pulses around the world during his college career, Brown was thought to be the can't miss prospect with 13.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss during the 1999 college football season. At the Penn State pro day Brown ran a 4.52 seconds forty-yard dash, had a vertical leap of 37. Now, 14 years later comes a prospect of similar size and mind-blowing combine numbers. Clowney's hand-timed 4.47 and official 4.53 along with his 37.5" vertical jump were almost mirrored Brown's.
Can't miss, right?
Wrong.
When Dee Ford compared Clowney to to a blind dog in a meat market, that statement more accurately fit Brown's NFL career, with the difference being that there wasn't bad tape on Brown during his final college season, nor did he have a reputation for taking plays off. Courtney Brown said and did all of the right things during the pre-draft rounds including, "Yes sirs" and "No sirs" which had every NFL personnel man believing that this was a dream prospect.
So what is different? There is a stark contrast in demeanor between Brown and Clowney to be considered. Brown had stoic down pat years before Eli Manning while Clowney was more outwardly passionate and excitable as he rampaged through college football two years ago. The "Quiet Storm" never seemed able to do more than rustle up a few dark clouds on the field in the NFL finishing his career with a paltry 19 total sacks in an injury plagued six years. Clowney's final college season seemed to mirror Brown's actual NFL production managing a mere 3 sacks all year.
Jadaveon Clowney's NFL career is an unwritten mystery, but it should behoove anyone who remembers the large man who ran faster than receivers and running backs in the 2000 pre-draft workouts to pump the breaks a little bit. Great size and speed in the Underwear Olympics don't always translate to NFL success and teams should at least consider last season's tape on Clowney to find out whether that blind dog in a meat market actually wants to hunt or if his performance last year was an aberration.
Site referenced
http://a.espncdn.com/nfl/s/profile/cbrown.html
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