Jaguars coaches were not in town for long, but they accomplished their mission in Columbia, S.C., at the pro-day workout of South Carolina star Jadeveon Clowney. They saw the NFL draft's most prolific pass rusher fatigued, and for Jaguars defensive line coach Todd Wash, that was the ultimate goal.
"He showed some good things today. The biggest thing we were wondering is what kind of shape he was going to be in, and he showed that he's been working his tail off. We got him tired. That was kind of the biggest thing we looked at as D-line coaches today," Wash told Jaguars.com. "We wanted to get him tired and see how well he does compete when he is tired. And he came out and did those things today."
Coaches no doubt pushed Clowney to a point of fatigue to get a better handle on the questions about his motor that have plagued the star defensive end since last fall. Clowney's level of effort didn't disappoint Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley, either.
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"I really liked the drills, how they were set up, because it did show competitiveness and they challenged him physically," Bradley said. "From drill to drill, even at the end they asked him to do some drops and then some scheme stuff. It was really a challenging pro day. You saw him, he was always coming up to the front of the line. Careful of his breathing, but he was competing. And that's the central theme of our program, so to see those traits was great."
With that, according to Florida Times-Union beat writer Ryan O'Halloran's Twitter feed, the Jaguars' contingent was gone without a private meeting with Clowney. The club holds the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.
But its shot at acquiring the 6-foot-5 5/8, 266-pound pass rusher depends first on the leanings of the Houston Texans.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
