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No one has forgotten yet, but Jadeveon Clowney was a monster from the moment he stepped onto South Carolina’s campus. He recorded two sacks in his first SEC game, two more in his next, all on his way to a then-record 8.0 sacks in his freshman season. He had at least a half-tackle for loss in six of his first seven games and was the ingredient that pushed South Carolina’s defense to an elite level in the SEC as the Gamecocks won a school-record 11 games in each of his three seasons.
Myles Garrett’s entrance into the college game was just as lou, as the No. 2 player in his class, if not just as impactful as Clowney’s was. He recorded 5.5 sacks in his first three games (although just one against an SEC opponent in that stretch), putting him on pace to top Clowney’s freshman record — which he did by season’s end.
Garrett wasn’t as complete of a player in his freshman year as Clowney was during his first season with the Gamecocks, but the comparisons were obvious. Pass-rushing phenoms, both long and über-athletic. Clowney arrived as a freshman with an NFL-ready body, capable of tossing elite left tackles like rag dolls while holding up against the run and terrorizing passers. Garrett, for all of his physical gifts, is not there yet. On top of that, the Aggies defense in 2014 was nowhere near any of Clowney’s South Carolina teams.
Though listed at 254 pounds as a freshman (he was up to 275 pounds by his junior year), Clowney possessed uncommon strength to go along with his speed and agility. Garrett was listed at nearly the same weight, 255 pounds, but his lack of strength relative to Clowney was evident in the way SEC lines were able to push him around, especially in the running game.
Garrett has all of the tools to become Clowney’s equal, though. It starts with the athleticism. Earlier this week, Garrett posted videos of himself doing a windmill and 360-degree dunk on the basketball court, all but confirming a report of a vertical leap of more than 40 inches. Those things are great, but they’re not as absurd as the 40-yard dash time Garrett recorded earlier this offseason.
https://twitter.com/Myles_Garrett15/status/558759566087712768
While unofficial, that time puts Garrett ahead of the 4.53-second 40 that Clowney ran at last year’s NFL scouting combine that had everyone buzzing about his unfair athleticism.
Earlier this week, Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman called Garrett “the freakiest athlete in major college football,” while Aggies strength coach Larry Jackson compared Garrett’s athleticism to NFL running back Adrian Peterson’s in an interview with Feldman.
Garrett already draws attention like Clowney did as a part of a line that didn’t threaten many offenses as a whole last fall. As Feldman pointed out, Garrett was on the receiving end of countless holds, many of which went uncalled.
Can Garrett reach Clowney’s every-down level of havoc wreaking?
For starters, he’s gotten stronger this offseason, according to just about every report from spring practice. He looked bigger on the field, and that added bulk helped him push around Texas A&M’s offensive line.
Defensive ends coach Terry Price said last month that Garrett has improved his physicality at the point of attack. All of that should translate to Garrett holding up better against the run while. His weakness there exposed last season, never more so than in the season finale against LSU, when the Tigers ran at his side time after time, frustrating the freshman. He dealt with frustration too as offensive lines sent double teams his way more often than not, flustering the young player. He’ll have to learn to keep plugging away despite seeing multiple blockers, as Clowney did during his sophomore year.
Garrett is also set to play in a system that seems tailored to his game. New defensive coordinator John Chavis has an affinity for long, athletic defensive ends, and Garrett, along with Daeshon Hall, fits that mold. Chavis will simplify his defensive line’s responsibilities, turning both ends loose on quarterbacks. That should benefit Garrett and should make his job easier on a down-by-down basis.
Nothing is guaranteed in football; Clowney undergoing microfracture surgery after an injury-plagued rookie year in the NFL is proof of that. But as Garrett continues to develop, his abilities put him on a trajectory just like the man whose freshman record he broke in 2014.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
