From a developmental standpoint, Clemson’s cornerback’s room was delivered a blow last week.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney announced that freshman Myles Oliver had a shoulder injury and would subsequently be out for the season. The Tigers plan to go ahead and repair Oliver’s injury with surgery and redshirt him, per Swinney, who said Oliver’s shoulder was an issue stemming from high school.
A former quarterback who developed into an all-state cornerback in Georgia, Oliver earned a 6A all-state selection in Georgia following a senior season in 2021 in which he posted 75 tackles with five interceptions. He finished the season with 552 all-purpose yards (including 1011 via interception returns) and four total touchdowns.
The Villa Rica, Ga., native and product of Douglas County High School committed to Clemson back on Jan. 16 and enrolled this summer.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Mike Reed was asked how difficult it was to lose a true freshman like Oliver this early into his career.
“It hurt,” Reed said. “Like I said, I brought him here for a reason — I want to see him play. Having a young man not being able to play, sometimes they feel disconnected. So, it’s my job to make sure, ‘Hey, c’mon man. This is a little setback. This is one of the wake-up calls. You gotta fight now. You gotta struggle.’ But, it’s sad.”
If there’s any silver living here for Oliver, it’s that Malcolm Greene knows what he’s going through. The junior cornerback has dealt with shoulder injuries for the better part of four years.
If anyone can offer Oliver advice, it’s Greene.
“My main advice is to buy into the recovery process,” Greene said. “Don’t get discouraged based off how long it’s taken. You might get to feeling really good with the shoulders because the pain really goes away after the first two-three weeks. But, just to stay focused with it and even when you feel like you might be cleared and that you should be done; just make sure that you’re still bought in and every day you’re in there trying to do rehab and just get stronger every day.”
Before Oliver went down with a season-ending injury, Greene had a chance to see glimpses of why he was recruited to play at Clemson.
“I really like what he brings to the team,” Greene said. “Very competitive kid. He’s got some length to him. I can really see him doing big things.”
So does Reed.
“I mean fast, physical — you like it,” Reed said. “He was just hoping that when the news came back about his injury, he was like, ‘Man, I wish it was just something slight.’ But it wasn’t. It’s OK. He’ll be OK. He’ll be ready to go.”
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