Clemson’s win over California came with a heavy cost, and the biggest blow landed on special teams.
Tigers running back David Eziomume is done for the season after being carted off with a leg injury against Cal, coach Dabo Swinney said Sept. 27. Eziomume was hurt on a kickoff return in the first quarter, shortly after California turned a fumble by quarterback Tait Reynolds into a scoop-and-score touchdown.
Clemson went on to beat the Golden Bears 24-10 on Sept. 25 and now turns to Miami, which comes in at 4-0 and 2-0 in the ACC. That game is set for Oct. 3 at home with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC.
Swinney said Eziomume will need surgery similar to the procedure defensive tackle Markus Strong had earlier this season after Strong suffered a season-ending injury against LSU on Sept. 5.
Eziomume has been a key special teams piece for Clemson. He logged one carry this season, and it was a memorable one: an 11-yard touchdown run against LSU, the Tigers’ only score in a 51-10 loss. Over three seasons with Clemson, he has rushed for 144 yards on 27 carries.
After the Cal game, Eziomume posted a message on his X account: "Lord I thank you, for you are an amazing God," Eziomume wrote. "I never question your works for I know it all has meaning. I love y'all and I’ll be back soon."
Clemson also had several other injury situations to manage against the Golden Bears. Starting guard Elyjah Thurmon was hurt, while starting nickel Corian Gipson and co-starting defensive tackle Devarrick Woods were unavailable because of injuries.
Swinney described those as short-term issues.
"Everybody would be pretty much day-to-day from just being banged up from this game or previous game," Swinney said.
Gavin Blanchard filled in for Thurmon after the injury. Misun Kelley took over at nickel for Gipson, and Darien Mayo slid from defensive end to defensive tackle to cover for Woods.
Swinney said the move with Mayo was already on his mind before Woods got hurt.
"I felt like we needed to move Mayo inside this week. Devarrick was down, and it's just something I've been thinking about anyway, and just felt like that was a good move," Swinney said.
"I just wanted to see what it looked like, and then he was a bright spot. I think that's a great move for him."
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