Hoge Has Skip Bayless Syndrome: Says He'd Take Sam Over Clowney

Merril Hoge has done it again.

After putting Johnny Manziel on blast the other day, ESPN's football analyst took a shot at Jadeveon Clowney, saying he'd take Michael Sam over the former South Carolina Gamecock defensive end.

Whoaaaaaaa! That's rather rash, considering that Sam struggled at the NFL Combine and Clowney shone.

But you can't read it for yourself from the source if you didn't already see it. Hoge had his minions vaporize the tweet. However, we have it for you:

But the damage was done. Once something gets out in cyberspace, it's out. And responses from the Twitterverse didn't take long to appear:

Hoge's criticism of Clowney is 'way more harsh than his trashing of Johnny Football. He flat out said Clowney has no heart. That's out there, considering this dude was considered the best player in the game last year.

Next to skill, heart and desire are your biggest attributes if you're a player.

Later, Hodge tried to clear up his statement on Twitter.

But he's got to own what got out there. If his staff -- or whover does his bidding -- made the mistake, it's still his responsibility to approve what's published.

Either way, Hoge may have tainted the images of two top NFL prospects with his statements. In my opinion, that's highly unfair.