Dabo Swinney remained tightlipped about the injury to one of Clemson’s starting offensive lineman throughout the week.
The Tigers’ coach never mentioned Will Putnam’s toe injury leading up to Clemson’s game against Boston College. And Swinney wasn’t asked about it given the fact Putnam started and played the whole game last week against North Carolina State just like he usually does at right guard.
But following Clemson’s 19-13 win over the Eagles late Saturday night at Memorial Stadium — a game the Tigers had to play without Putnam — Swinney revealed Putnam sustained the injury on the first series of Clemson’s loss to N.C. State. Yet Putnam never said a word about it despite his foot being “as black and blue as it could be” after that game, Swinney said.
“He couldn’t even walk hardly on Sunday,” Swinney said. “The whole bottom of his foot was black and blue, so he paid the price for it this week.”
Clemson had already made one change on the offensive line against N.C. State, inserting Paul Tchio at left guard in place of freshman Marcus Tate against. Leading up to the Boston College game, Swinney said he was “considering everything” when asked if he was contemplating any other changes to one of the more maligned position groups amid the Tigers’ sluggish start to the season offensively, but Putnam’s injury forced his hand.
With Putnam unavailable, Clemson slid center Matt Bockhorst over to fill in at right guard and plugged Hunter Rayburn in at center. Rayburn competed with Bockhorst throughout fall camp for the starting center job, but his only game reps before Saturday had come at guard. The Tigers also reinserted Tate into the starting lineup at left guard.
The shakeup helped Clemson turn in its best rushing performance of the season against an FBS opponent. The Tigers, which came in ranked 99th nationally in rushing, racked up 231 of their 438 yards on the ground, finishing just 11 yards shy of their top rushing performance through five games (242 against FCS member South Carolina State).
Aided by a 59-yard touchdown run from Kobe Pace — Clemson’s longest play from scrimmage this season, the Tigers averaged 5.8 yards per carry, getting as much push up front as they have all season.
“I thought (Rayburn) did a nice job, and I thought Bock did a great job, moving him over there to right guard with Putnam out,” Swinney said. “On the field, it looked like him and (right tackle) Walker (Parks) did a nice job on some double teams.
“Proud of Rayburn. He’s a young player, and that’s a big moment for him. So hopefully that’s something he can grow from with some confidence. And same thing with Tate.”
The question is, what does the offensive line look like once Putnam returns, particularly on the interior?
Swinney said he expects Putnam to be available again at some point this season, and it could be in time for Clemson’s next game at Syracuse on Oct. 15. An open date before then will give the 6-foot-4, 305-pound junior an extra week to rest, but whenever Putnam returns, he’ll slide back in as the starting right guard.
“Putnam has actually been very consistent for us,” Swinney said. “He’s played well.”
As for which direction the Tigers go at center and left guard, that’s less unclear. Bockhorst started the first four games at center but started every game last season at left guard. The fifth-year senior is also a far more experienced player than Tate and Tchio, who’ve combined for five career starts.
Might Clemson move Bockhorst back to his his more familiar left guard spot once Putnam returns and keep Rayburn at center? Swinney said the Tigers have some time to evaluate all of that.
“It’s nice that we’ll have more experience and a little bit more experienced options as we figure out how we’re going to go, so we’ll look at everything,” he said. “We’ve got an open date to figure out several things that we’re going to have to do from a personnel standpoint to give ourselves a good chance moving forward.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
