The No.1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Jadeveon Clowney, had sports hernia surgery on Thursday.

Clowney has been missing some time at voluntary practices because of groin issues and he and team physicians went to Philadelphia to have it checked out. It didn't appear to be extremely damaging, but the team felt now was the right time to have it fixed. Better to get it fixed now than to deal with it during the regular season. Texans Coach Bill O'Brien said:

"We just looked at it as, let's take care of it now, and he'll be ready for training camp."

The Texans rookie training camp begins July 21.

The first preseason game for the Texans is schedule for Aug. 9 against the Arizona Cardinals and first regular season game doesn't begin until Sept. 7, against the Washington Redskins. So Clowney has plenty of time to heal up and get ready for the games. It's very important that Clowney get used to this new defensive system that the Texans will be running, because he is a rookie and the Texans are rebuilding. It will be interesting to see how Romeo Crennel uses Clowney in his 3-4 defense.

Normally a simple surgery like this wouldn't raise any red flags, but Clowney does have a little history with injuries. Muscle strains and bone spurs have been the main reason he miss playing time last season at South Carolina. There's no doubt Clowney has been one of the best college football players over the last two years, but the Texans may have made a mistake by not drafting a quarterback earlier.

Johnny Manziel was sitting right there for the taking with the No. 1 overall pick. Manziel is a former Heisman Trophy winner and played two seasons at Texas A&M. Clowney might have been the safe pick, but Manziel would have been the selection that could have put the Texans over the top. Wide receiver Andre Johnson sure could use a quarterback at this point. The Texans did not proceed to select a quarterback until the No. 135 pick, when they chose Tom Savage out of Pittsburgh.

Texans fans shouldn't worry too much because, again, Clowney is expected to be ready for training camp. It's important that Clowney participates in the preseason so he will be ready for the games that count. Clowney's efforts have been brought into question by many before. Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel has already said, "Clowney is going to have to earn his playing time on this defense."

The Indianapolis Colts are again heavy favorites to win the AFC South with Andrew Luck leading the way. If the Texans are going to beat the Colts, they're going to have to get pressure on Luck and that's going to have to come from Clowney.

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