Jadeveon Clowney: Alabama, South Carolina Battle for Top Football Recruit

Jadeveon Clowney is the top-ranked high school football recruit in the nation.

At 6'4", 285 pounds, the Rock Hill, South Carolina, defensive end is on the top of every college coach’s Christmas list. But the reality is that only one team will ultimately land the star.

At this point, SEC rivals South Carolina and Alabama are the clear-cut favorites to land Clowney. And, like it was at the beginning of the month, the race seems dead even. A handful of schools were recruiting Clowney and he had reportedly shown a bit of interest in Ohio State and Florida State in addition to the two “finalists.”

But in the weeks leading up to the college football bowl season, it appears that Clowney is set to sign with either Alabama or South Carolina.

Clowney has undoubtedly been happy with the special interest shown by Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who paid him and his family a personal visit last week. The ultimate salesman in college football, Saban’s ability to lure prized recruits and add them to what is already a championship-caliber team may just be enough to tip the scales.

You can’t deny Clowney’s interest in staying local, though. With Columbia less than a two-hour drive from Rock Hill, Clowney’s family would be able to see him play every home game, and that is something he said is very important to him. Clowney also clearly has an interest in the Gamecocks after the stellar season they had, including a win over Saban’s Alabama team that he was in attendance for.

While the final decision will likely wait until National Signing Day, it’s almost certain that it will be either Alabama or South Carolina to land the prized Clowney.

At this stage of the recruiting process, I feel that if Clowney was sold on South Carolina, he would have already offered a verbal commitment of some sort. Knowing that Alabama still has one more month to continue to sell its program, I feel that Clowney will end up there next season.