Clowney, who was finishing his sophomore season at South Carolina, catapulted into stardom after his devastating hit on Michigan running back Vincent Smith in the 2013 Outback Bowl. But according to Funchess, the moment that won the Rock Hill, S.C. native and eventual No. 1 pick an ESPY award for 'Best Play' may have appeared worse than it was.

"It was hot out there and they had just given us our new matte helmets," Funchess recalled this week. "[Smith] had dreads and boom.

"It wasn't as big of a hit as it seemed, but on TV it looked bad. But you can't take that away from him. He made the hit, helmet came off, so everybody's going to remember that."

That Funchess would be somewhat defensive about the hit seen millions of times around the world is understandable. But it may be more than just a teammate protecting another Michigan man.

Funchess said he and a handful of Wolverines had their helmets popped off earlier in the game. Pictures from that day back up his claim:

A freshman, Funchess finished the Outback Bowl with only a four-yard reception. But the stat sheet doesn't show everything.

"I blocked Clowney once. It was backside, so it was just a little cutoff block," Funchess said with a laugh.

For some reason, that block isn't on YouTube. Clowney's hit has been uploaded around 100 times.

Perhaps it never would have happened had the Wolverines just worn their "old" helmets. That they didn't started a confluence of events for one the most memorable college football highlights in recent memory.

"It was bound to happen," Funchess said. "But we didn't think it'd be a hit like that."