Clemson heads into Friday night’s trip to Cal with the kind of injury list that can quietly tilt a game before kickoff even arrives. The Tigers have already ruled out cornerback Corian Gipson, defensive tackle Devarrick Woods and running back Jay Haynes, pushing their total number of unavailable players to 14.
That leaves Clemson walking into a road matchup with less margin for error than it wanted. Cal, by comparison, has only four players listed as doubtful, which means the healthier team is the one waiting at home. For Clemson, the assignment is straightforward: survive the attrition and find a way to grind out a win.
Gipson’s absence hits the secondary, where he has been a major reason Clemson has looked so improved. He entered last week’s game against North Carolina already banged up, tried to play, and lasted only one series before Ronan Hanafin took over.
Hanafin made the most of the opportunity, and now he should see more snaps again with Gipson out. Clemson’s back end will also be staring down Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, so that group will have to hold up again without one of its key pieces.
A return in Week 5 appears possible.
Woods’ status is the surprise of the bunch. The Texas State transfer has been important from the jump as Clemson has leaned on its defensive line rotation to stay afloat.
That group has already been stretched thin with Markus Strong out for the season and Vic Burley only recently back with the team. Burley logged nine snaps against UNC and came up with a big fumble recovery when Demon June put the ball on the ground, but Clemson may need even more from him now.
That’s because the Tigers have been vulnerable on the ground. They have allowed more than 200 rushing yards in both of their Power Four games so far, and even though Cal has not been strong running the ball, Clemson’s front is heading into this one looking like a patchwork unit.
The one bit of relief for Clemson is at quarterback, where Christopher Vizzina remains probable. His elbow issue is in his non-throwing arm, and he had fluid buildup there last week, which kept him out against UNC even though he was listed as probable then too. Clemson is not expected to push him back before he is ready, but his return would give the Tigers useful depth behind Tait Reynolds, with Trent Pearman still in the mix as a fifth-year senior and former walk-on.
Reynolds has been the better fit for the offense, so Vizzina’s presence is more about insurance than a changing of the guard. Still, after a week of injury hits, Clemson can use any stability it can get.
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