When he met with the media Friday afternoon before Clemson hit the field for the start of fall camp, the Tigers’ head coach took a moment to talk about safety Lannden Zanders’ decision to step away from the game of football.
Dabo Swinney certainly feels for Zanders, a redshirt junior who revealed via social media Wednesday that he has decided to retire from football following several shoulder injuries.
Zanders suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the season opener against Georgia last season and played through the previous season with a torn labrum.
“I know everybody heard about Lannden, and obviously my heart breaks for him,” Swinney said. “He had a great spring – obviously didn’t go through spring from a physical standpoint but did everything and looked great. Had a little bit of a setback, and honestly just mentally and physically didn’t feel like he could do it.”
A native of Shelby, N.C., and product of Crest High School, where he was ranked as the 24th-best player in North Carolina by ESPN, Zanders concluded his playing career credited with 57 tackles (5.0 for loss), 3.0 sacks and four pass breakups in 511 defensive snaps over 25 games (10 starts) from 2019-21.
“He’s going to graduate in December,” Swinney said. “So, those are tough days and tough parts of the job and tough part of the game. But man, we love Lannden and his family. He’s still a part of what we’re doing, he just won’t be able to run out there and play the game the way he wants to play it.”
Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center. Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
