Clowney's work ethic questioned by none other than Steve Spurrier

Published Feb. 20, 2014 3:33 p.m. ET

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Jadeveon Clowney, the highly sought-after defensive end from the University of South Carolina, has had his work ethic questioned by an unlikely source — his college head coach.

“He was OK,” Spurrier said recently on NFL AM via Pro Football Talk. “His work habits are pretty good, they’re not quite like (Marcus) Lattimore, maybe Stephon Gilmore, Melvin Ingram, some of those guys.”

Spurrier had plenty of praise for Clowney as well, though, saying Clowney’s numbers fell last season because he was double- or triple-teamed on most snaps, but he remained a threat to the quarterback.

“His run defense was very good, though, and he chased down a bunch of guys and made tackles,” Spurrier said. "His sacks — he had to run around two or three guys just about every game. I don’t think teams will quite do that in the NFL, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

But it’s still strange to hear Spurrier criticizing Clowney, especially since both athletes and coaches benefit from a player being drafted into the NFL.

And if you are an NFL general manager, despite Clowney's dazzling talent, there appears to be more and more red flags surrounding the South Carolina specimen — from pulling himself out of games to his recent speeding tickets.

But if you ask Clowney himself, he's not shy about his opinion.