"I don’t see no big deal like everybody else," he said later. "They’d say, ‘He’s the king of all of football.’ The guy ain’t nothing but 5-5. He’s a short guy. Everybody’s going crazy on Nick Saban."

During the visit, Saban touted Alabama’s graduation rate, its success in sending players to the NFL and playing Clowney at both defensive end and outside linebacker. Clowney and his family could hardly get a word in.

"Nick Saban’s going to take over and talk," Clowney said. "He talked the whole time he was there. I was dozing off. He can talk. A lot. He talked for a whole straight hour."
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"We’d love to have you," Clowney recalled Saban telling him. "You’d help our team out. You’re going to play as a freshman."

But Alabama’s 3-4 defense was a problem for Clowney. He believed he didn’t fit in the scheme.

"If Alabama ran a 4-3, I would have committed a long time ago," Clowney said during a Jan. 24 interview at his grandparents’ house. "They run a 3-4 and I’m thinking, ‘They expect me to stay 265, 270 (pounds).’ If I get up to 280, 290, I’d be playing defensive tackle up there. That ain’t my position. I like playing on the end and rushing the passer."