South Carolina Football: Gamecock legend Jadeveon Clowney is playing like Jadeveon Clowney again

South Carolina football fans who watch the NFL are witnessing something that they saw a whole lot of from 2011-2013: Jadeveon Clowney is dominating football games.

While some had written off the former #1 overall pick, Clowney has re-emerged nearly as dominant as he was during his three-straight Pro Bowl seasons from 2016-2018. On the 2023 season, he has 8.5 sacks (with two games to go, he is just one sack shy of his career-high of 9.5), he has added 8 more tackles for loss, and he is among the NFL leaders in quarterback hurries.

However, Clowney's impact goes beyond basic box score stats.

Playing a more pass rush-focused role in the Ravens' 3-4 defense, the hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker ranks third in football in pass rush win rate (25%), a number that only trails Defensive Player of the Year candidates Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns (Clowney's former teammate).***

Clowney also has accomplished this despite playing against double teams on 25% of his snaps. TJ Watt, one of the biggest defensive names in the sport and the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year as a guy who plays the same hybrid role in a 3-4 defense, only gets doubled 14% of the time.***

Jadeveon Clowney is one of the reasons why the Ravens are, arguably, the best defense in the NFL this season and why Baltimore leads the entire league in sacks. His purple and black squad just whipped the San Francisco 49ers in San Fran on Monday night to secure the best record in the league with just two games left to play.

Clowney has only played in five total postseason games in his NFL career, but that number undoubtedly will grow during this NFL postseason.

***These stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus