Following No. 25 Clemson’s 19-13 win over Boston College on Saturday night at Death Valley, Dabo Swinney was asked what he is most concerned about with his team heading into the Tigers’ bye week before they hit the road for their next game at Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 15.
Clemson’s head coach didn’t hesitate before answering the question.
“Injuries, health. That’s it,” Swinney said. “Depth, by far. That’s the number one thing.”
Swinney described his team as a “MASH unit,” with the Tigers already dealing with significant injuries entering Saturday’s game and now even more banged up after it.
Clemson (3-2, 2-1 ACC) was already without defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, who is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the NC State game, as well as fellow defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who needed surgery for a torn bicep sustained in the Georgia Tech game and is out for an extended period of time as well. On the offensive side of the ball, another key contributor, freshman running back Will Shipley, is sidelined for the time being after suffering a shin/tibia injury vs. NC State.
“It’s been an unbelievable year, so our depth is really being challenged,” Swinney said. “Hope guys continue to step up, and that’s what we have to do.”
The injury hits kept coming for Clemson against Boston College, and after the game, Swinney rattled off the list of players who were either unavailable going into the contest or got hurt during it.
“We were down 10 or 11 guys, and a bunch of them we lose during the game. It was crazy,” he said. “A MASH unit going on. (Will) Putnam couldn’t go, bad toe. … We lose E.J. (Williams), we lose Frank (Ladson), we lose (Braden) Galloway, we lose Will Taylor, we lose Justyn Ross. Mario (Goodrich) couldn’t go. We were hopeful he could go. Fred (Davis) was out again, Joseph (Charleston)’s hamstring… It was just a crazy, crazy situation, and guys just kept stepping up.”
Swinney said after the game that both Ross and Galloway “got hit in the head,” so the Tigers shut them down. As for the freshman Taylor, Swinney said they think he suffered a knee injury, but the team will find out more Sunday. Williams, Swinney said, has been battling knee soreness.
While there is plenty for Swinney and the Tigers to be concerned about from a football standpoint after narrowly escaping with a win against Boston College, make no mistake – Swinney is most worried about his team health wise.
“Football wise, we’ve got to finish some of the plays that are there,” Swinney said. “We’ve got several plays that we need to finish that are there. We’ve got to just continue to develop that chemistry and get it done.
“But the biggest concern is just the health of our team. We’ve got to do a great job this week – again, good momentum – but get these guys well mentally and physically and get a good plan and a good head start on Syracuse and then get a few days to recuperate and decompress. … But the biggest thing is just the health of our guys.”
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