South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney usually gets attention for his hits — not being the recipient of one.
But midway through the second half of North Carolina’s 27-10 loss to the Gamecocks Thursday, offensive tackle Kiaro Holts delivered a hit to Clowney’s legs after the ball was thrown, earning a personal foul and the ire of pundits nationwide for seemingly targeting Clowney.
Coach Larry Fedora said in his weekly press conference Monday that Holts was punished like any UNC player who receives a personal foul during a game, but there was no malicious intent fueling the play.
“All of the conspiracy theories that are out there, there was no truth to any of that,” Fedora said. “The kid was just trying to make a play and he made a poor choice.”
Other than the play in the second half, Clowney’s name was rarely called, but that doesn’t mean that he was ineffective, Fedora said.
“I’m not gonna sit there and tell you that we stopped Clowney, because when you really look at the film, the guy still pressured us,” Fedora said. “He still made us throw the ball before we wanted to throw it. He still did some things.”
His lack of playmaking attracted negative attention, something that Fedora said was a result of lofty expectations placed on the junior.
“I know everybody on that national level and all the talking heads, they go: ‘He didn’t do this, he didn’t do that, he didn’t do this,’” Fedora said. “That’s because everybody built him up to be Superman and he was supposed to jump over every blocker — no matter how many you put on him— and jump on top of the quarterback and beat his head in the ground.”
UNC’s young offensive line showed maturity beyond its years and did its part to humanize a player that was blown up to mythical proportions before the season opener.
