Tag: Walker Parks

Swinney ‘really excited’ about the Tigers’ 2024 offensive line despite Gator Bowl struggles

Clemson allowed eight sacks against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl, but head coach Dabo Swinney has plenty of confidence in the unit going into 2024.

Clemson’s offensive line performance in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Friday left much to be desired, but despite the unit’s struggles, head coach Dabo Swinney remained optimistic about the future.

Speaking to the media after the Tigers’ 38-35 victory over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl, head coach Dabo Swinney briefly touched on the offensive line’s performance and outlook.

“We’ll have seven starters coming back, and we’re excited about that,” Swinney said. “We’re excited about what we got. I’m sure not all of those sacks were on the OL. It’s easy, and that’s kind of the first thing everybody does, but we’ll watch the tape and assess it. There’s probably one or two that Cade might’ve taken. I don’t know, we’ll see when we watch the tape. There’s a lot of things that go into it, but I’m really excited about the group that’s coming back.”

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik was sacked eight times against the Wildcats on Friday after only being sacked 20 times throughout the regular season.

Despite consistently being under duress and hit, Klubnik said after the game that he felt like he “had all day back there today.”

Nonetheless, Swinney added in his post-game press conference that Clemson’s offensive line has to “get better,” and the Tigers need to “establish our depth.”

Swinney’s confidence in next year’s line stems from two factors, the first of which is the returning players on the roster.

In 2024, Clemson will have Marcus Tate, Walker Parks, Blake Miller, Collin Sadler, Tristan Leigh, Harris Sewell and Trent Howard, all of whom started in at least one game this season. The only starter who the Tigers are losing is center Will Putnam, who is out of eligibility. Clemson also lost guard Mitchell Mayes to the transfer portal earlier this month.

The second reason Swinney has confidence in the unit is the hiring of Matt Luke as the new offensive line coach.

Luke coached in Friday’s game against Kentucky, and although his group didn’t perform exceptionally well, he is expected to elevate and develop the blockers up front, as well as have more success on the recruiting trail than his predecessor, Thomas Austin.

Clemson offensive lineman announces plan to return for another season

Clemson football got some good news from a veteran offensive lineman.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team received some great news from an injured veteran offensive lineman. 

Offensive guard Walker Parks may be out for the season, but he announced he plans to return to Clemson for a fifth season via social media. Excellent news for Tigers fans: Parks journey at Clemson won’t end this season.

It was announced that Parks would miss the remainder of the season after the Florida State game, where it was later revealed he required ankle surgery. It was a tough loss for the Tigers, but that’s football.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff will welcome Parks back with open arms for the 2024 season.

Clemson starting guard Walker Parks is out for the season

Walker Parks’ season is over with an injury.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney shared some tough news Saturday following Clemson’s 31-24 overtime loss to Florida State. 

Following the loss, Swinney shared that starting guard Walker Parks will miss the remainder of the 2023 season with a new injury. Parks has been dealing with the injury for some time, and they must have decided recently that the guard wouldn’t be able to return this season.

“It’s a new injury. He’s probably going to be out for the year,” the head coach said. “So, tough loss for us there, so we’ve got to figure out what the best path forward for him is. He’s going to have surgery again, so just consulting with a lot of doctors across the country on what’s the best path forward.”

The Tigers’ offensive line will be a bit more vulnerable without Parks, who is a veteran leader of the group. Dabo Swinney said it was “a tough loss for us” when discussing the injury. A bad day for Clemson gets worse with this news.

Clemson starting offensive lineman out for FSU

Clemson’s offensive line will be down a man against No. 4 Florida State.

Clemson will be without one of its starting offensive linemen for the Tigers’ Saturday matchup with No. 4 Florida State.

Staring right guard Walker Parks will not play against the Seminoles, according to multiple reports. Saturday will mark the second consecutive game that Parks has missed after he didn’t play against Florida Atlantic because of a lower-body injury, head coach Dabo Swinney said.

Without Parks, the Tigers will likely look in the direction of Mitchell Mayes, who started in place of the injured Parks last week.

The Seminoles’ defense has eight sacks on the year, so Parks’ absence could give the unit an extra edge.

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Dabo Swinney gives an injury update on a starter after practice Wednesday

Swinney shared an update on the status of Walker Parks.

Dabo Swinney met with the media via Zoom Wednesday after practice, with the head coach giving a status update on starting offensive lineman Walker Parks.

While we didn’t get much on starting safety Andrew Mukuba, who has been dealing with an injury of his own, Swinney touched on Parks and his current status. Like the last update, it seems Park remains day to day heading into a huge matchup against Florida State. 

“He’s lower body,” Swinney said of Parks. “He did practice yesterday and kind of held him a little bit today. So, as I said, he’s been kind of day-to-day.”

The game is fast approaching, and Parks is a key piece of this offensive line. This is a situation we will keep a close eye on.

Swinney gives an injury update on two Clemson starters ahead of Florida State

Dabo Swinney gave an injury update on two starters as the Tigers prepare for their Week 4 matchup with Florida State.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have arguably their biggest game of the season in Week 4 against Florida State, and the team hopes to have two starters back for the matchup. 

Safety Andrew Mukuba and offensive lineman Walker Parks missed this past week against Florida Atlantic. Still, Swinney and his staff hope both will be fit to play against the Seminoles. Two key players for this team.

“We’re hopeful,” Swinney said. “They’re with us working and still say day-to-day. But we’ll see.”

A minor update from the head coach, but there is still a lot of the week left to get more updates on the health of these two starters. They seem to be on track to play as day-to-day, but we won’t know until Swinney officially makes the call. 

Clemson and Florida State face off Saturday at Clemson Memorial Stadium, with kickoff set for noon.

Clemson to be without 2 starters vs. FAU

Clemson will be without a starting defensive back, as well as a starting offensive lineman for the FAU game.

Clemson will be without two starters for its game against FAU on Saturday night.

Starting defensive back Andrew Mukuba and starting offensive guard Walker Parks are both expected to be unavailable, Clemson announced pregame.

Mukuba, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, missed last week’s game against Charleston Southern. Head coach Dabo Swinney said this week that true freshman Khalil Barnes and Avieon Terrell have been working at nickel in practice in Mukuba’s absence.

As for Parks, it is unclear what the injury is, but he played 50 snaps last week. The Tigers have rotated multiple players in the interior of the offensive line through two games, including Mitchell Mayes, who played 29 snaps last week.

Kick off between the Tigers and the Owls is set for 8 p.m.

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Top ACC players Notre Dame will be playing in 2023

Keep your eye on these players when the Irish face them.

In exchange for retaining its football independence, Notre Dame plays a certain number of ACC opponents every season. The only other sport in which Notre Dame is not an ACC member is hockey, which plays in the Big Ten. While old-school Irish fans might long for the days of the program being able to schedule almost anyone at anytime, some often forget that this arrangement means some thrilling football. The home wins over recent powerhouse Clemson in 2020 and 2022 are two examples.

College football isn’t back yet, but you still can look at the rosters and see which quality players play for whom. Twitter’s Big Game Boomer has done just that and come up with a list of the top 50 ACC players for the upcoming season. When you look at the list, you’ll see the Irish have many of them set to face them. Let’s see who the Irish are playing when you take away the players whose teams aren’t on their schedule:

Swinney gives good news on the status of a starter

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave good news Wednesday evening on the status of a starting offensive lineman who missed last week’s game against Louisville. Swinney said starting right guard Walker Parks (concussion protocol) is full go now. “He’s …

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave good news Wednesday evening on the status of a starting offensive lineman who missed last week’s game against Louisville.

Swinney said starting right guard Walker Parks (concussion protocol) is full go now.

“He’s back,” Swinney said during his post-practice media availability.

Prior to missing the Louisville game, Parks had played 623 snaps while starting each of Clemson’s first nine games this season.

Parks, an ESPN Freshman All-American as a reserve in 2020, earned the starting right tackle role entering his sophomore year in 2021 and then transitioned to guard during fall camp in 2022. The Lexington, Ky., native entered the 2022 season having played 1,068 career snaps over 24 games (13 starts).

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Swinney gives latest on status of two significant players

Dabo Swinney held his weekly post-practice media availability via Zoom on Wednesday evening and gave the latest on a couple of significant players who have been dealing with injuries. Swinney said sophomore wide receiver Beaux Collins and junior …

Dabo Swinney held his weekly post-practice media availability via Zoom on Wednesday evening and gave the latest on a couple of significant players who have been dealing with injuries.

Swinney said sophomore wide receiver Beaux Collins and junior linebacker Trenton Simpson are still day-to-day, but Clemson’s head coach is hopeful they’ll be able to play in Saturday’s game against Miami.

“He and Beaux are both, as we said the other day, kind of day-to-day, working back into practice,” Swinney said. “I think both of those guys have a chance. So, we’re hopeful.”

Simpson was held out of the Louisville game last Saturday with an ankle injury. Swinney said on Tuesday that Collins, who missed the Louisville game with a separated shoulder, returned to practice on Monday.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes at Death Valley is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!