As recently as mid-November, the bone spurs in the right foot of South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney were giving the star junior plenty of problems, and the plan was for postseason surgery to remove the spurs.
Apparently, however, the Gamecocks' month off between their regular season finale and Wednesday's Capital One Bowl win over Wisconsin did Clowney's foot some good. And his plan now is not to have the surgery that would have threatened his readiness for the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
"It's not bothering me. The foot's fine. Right now I am just going to go with the flow," Clowney said, according to the Twitter feed of The State's Josh Kendall.
Clowney ended all speculation about his status for the 2014 draft after the 34-24 win over the Badgers. Shortly thereafter, according to Kendall, he mentioned his focus on preparing for the combine, which gathers more than 300 of the nation's top draft prospects for a series of physical and mental tests and evaluations.
"I just want to come in there and hit the combine and do stuff nobody has ever done, run a fast 40," he said. "Just show out."
Assuming Clowney doesn't change his mind about the surgery, his combine performance will be one of the most anticipated workouts of the event. He was timed with a sub-4.5 40-yard dash in preseason testing by the Gamecocks, at 275 pounds.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
