The South Carolina Gamecocks will retire the No. 7 football jersey in honor of Cleveland Browns defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The jersey retirement ceremony will commence before the Gamecocks' season opener against Georgia State on Sept. 3. Clowney played three seasons for the Gamecocks.

Clowney is one of the most fearsome and impactful players to ever play college football. He burst onto the scene as the highest-ranked high school prospect in the class of 2011 and lived up to the hype immediately.

SEC coaches named Clowney SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC 2nd Team. He was also named to multiple Freshman All-American 1st Team lists.

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In 2012, Clowney won the Ted Hendricks Award, which is the award given to college football's top defensive end. He also won SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was named First-team All-American and First-team All-SEC. He finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting as well, which is an award given to college football's best player.

He finished his college career with 129 total tackles (85 solo), 47 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, and nine forced fumbles. His elite play and promising future led to him being selected No. 1 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

Now at age 29, Clowney has had a very productive NFL career. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and was named Second-team All-Pro in 2016. He has spent time with the Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Tennesse Titans, and Browns.

In 2021, Clowney had 37 total tackles (24 solo), nine sacks, and two forced fumbles in his first season in Cleveland. He signed a one-year $11 million deal to return to the Browns this offseason.