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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Despite concerns about his work ethic, Jadeveon Clowney is considered the top DE in the draft. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There's no denying Jadeveon Clowney's\u00A0skills\u00A0on the field, but what about his work ethic? Many have questioned it, including South Carolina\u00A0head coach Steve Spurrier who previously suggested Clowney's overall drive\u00A0was just \"OK.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Spurrier eventually backtracked (somewhat) from that remark, but questions have continued to linger about\u00A0Clowney's desire to to be great, including one anonymous scout who claimed Clowney was \"spoiled\" and \"lazy.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But that's not something South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward is buying.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong &gt;MORE:\u00A02014 NFL Mock Draft\u00A0|\u00A0Top QBs\u00A0|\u00A0Top WRs\u00A0|\u00A0SI64: Our definitive Big Board&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"It doesn't offend me because I know JD [Jadeveon Clowney], and I know all this talk about JD being lazy and all this talk about him not playing hard, I know all that is motivating him,\" Ward told ESPN.com in reference to Clowney. \"And I know JD because I coached the kid and I recruited him, and that's not who he is. JD plays hard all the time.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I never had an issue with him. If anything, you had to slow him down,\" Ward said. \"There were days that Coach [Steve] Spurrier would have to tell us to take him off the field or they weren't going to get anything accomplished on offense. And that's the truth because they couldn\u2019t get a pass off on him.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ward went on to say that Clowney is \"highly motivated,\" and Ward\u00A0believes he'll be extremely successful in the NFL. He did suggest, however, that the potential No. 1\u00A0pick will have to spend more time studying his opponents as \"he didn\u2019t have to do that a lot in college.\"\n[si-nfl-player id=\"9f8540b103fc493faac31cdd8ff1574a\"]&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nfl/audibles/2014/04/23/jadeveon-clowney-work-ethic-south-carolina>