Clemson heads into Saturday night’s matchup with Georgia Southern in much better shape than a lot of teams would be in Week 2. After a fall camp that left Dabo Swinney with nearly a full roster to work with, the Tigers are still carrying that healthy base into their home opener.
That doesn’t mean the injury list is empty. The biggest absences remain true freshman Polo Anderson and defensive tackle Markus Strong, both of whom are out for the season.
Anderson tore his ACL during fall camp, wiping out what had been shaping up as a promising year for one of Clemson’s expected standout freshmen. Strong’s season also appears finished after he suffered a lower-leg injury in last weekend’s loss to No.
11 LSU.
Clemson has already been mapping out life without Anderson. Behind starters Corey Myrick and Jerome Carter III, senior Ronan Hanafin is the next man up. Hanafin saw action at both safety spots against LSU, and the Tigers also have fifth-year Kylon Griffin and sophomore Jakarrion Kenan behind him.
The situation is tighter on the defensive front without Strong. Clemson leaned on sophomore Amare Adams and junior Andy Burburija in the LSU game, both of whom started. The rotation also included junior Champ Thompson and sixth-year player Dietrick Pennington, a former offensive lineman who has shown some real flashes at the position.
There is also a bit of good news coming soon for the Tigers’ trenches. Graduate lineman Vic Burley is expected back next Monday, clearing the way for his return in time for ACC play against North Carolina. Burley was arrested back in August, but Clemson will have him reinstated before conference action begins.
On offense, the only other injury concern was lineman Collin Sadler, who did not play against LSU. Sadler had been expected to step in for right tackle Blake Miller, who started every game for three seasons, though Swinney said earlier this week that Sadler would be used only in an emergency-type role.
That said, Sadler is expected to play this weekend. The right tackle job went to sophomore Easton Ware for his first collegiate start against LSU, but Swinney sounded encouraged by Sadler’s week of work.
“He’s had a good week,” Swinney said on Wednesday of Sadler. “He was close last week. . .but he’s doing good, had a good week.”
So while Clemson is still dealing with a few notable absences, the overall picture remains encouraging as the Tigers try to get their first win of the season against Georgia Southern at home.
In Other News...
Herbstreit Just Framed Clemsons Week 1 Reality In A Brutal Way
Week 1 has a way of sorting the preseason noise from the teams that look ready to matter right away, and Kirk Herbstreit wasted little time doing exactly that. In his early-season take, he put Miami, Indiana and LSU at the top of the national conversation, pointing to Miamis strong showing with new quarterback Darian Mensah, Indianas stability under its coaching continuity and Josh Hoovers four touchdown passes, and LSUs emphatic win behind Sam Leavitt and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
For Clemson, the bigger issue is what that kind of snapshot says about the lane ahead. Herbstreit also flagged Notre Dame as a team to keep watching, which only adds to the sense that the race near the top is already taking shape, and the Tigers will have to answer quickly if they want to avoid getting left outside that first wave of contenders. [Read more 🡒]
Berkeley Just Sent Clemson Fans A Message About Regional Power
Berkeleys win over Summerville carried more than just local bragging rights, and Clemson fans who follow the states high school pipeline had to notice. In a matchup between two programs with real regional weight, Berkeley controlled the night behind senior quarterback Henry Rivers, whose legs helped set the tone while the defense kept Summerville from ever finding much rhythm.
The result also comes at a time when both teams are headed into games against ranked opponents, which only sharpens the significance of what happened here. Berkeley showed it could handle pressure against a familiar rival and do it with balance on both sides of the ball, while Summerville now has to regroup quickly after a loss that could ripple beyond one Friday night. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Home Opener Suddenly Carries More Pressure Than Fans Expected
Clemson heads into its Week 2 home opener against Georgia Southern with a little more urgency than anyone imagined after the opener. The Tigers will try to steady things Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network, and while the matchup still comes with a lopsided point spread in Clemsons favor, the focus inside the building is on cleaning up the issues that showed up in the loss to LSU.
Run defense is one of the obvious areas to monitor, and the offense also has questions to answer after a shaky start in Baton Rouge. A first home game usually brings a chance to settle in and reset the tone, but this one now carries the kind of early-season pressure that can shape the conversation around Clemson if the Tigers dont look sharper against Georgia Southern. [Read more 🡒]