Clemson's Dabo Swinney Provides Injury Update On Two Key Starters

While the Clemson Tigers celebrated a successful Senior and Military Appreciation Day with a 45-10 beatdown over the Furman Paladins on Saturday, the game was marred by a few notable injuries.

Two starters suffered injuries in the contest, with the first player to go down being starting tight end Olsen Patt-Henry, who exited in the first half with a season-ending knee injury.

While it's not official, Dabo Swinney said the doctors suspect a patellar tendon injury that will require the same surgery that Clemson linebacker Kobe McCloud underwent after tearing his ACL against Appalachian State last season.

"He's going to be out," Swinney stated post-game. "He's going to have to have surgery. I think they said he has a patellar tendon [injury]. I mean, we have to get the MRI, but they felt pretty confident that's what it was. It's not an ACL or anything, but still, you've got to go in there and fix it. I hate that. It's the same thing Kobe [McCloud] had to have last year. He's doing great, and Olsen will bounce back, too."

In his first season as a starter, Patt-Henry recorded career highs in receptions and yards, catching 16 passes for 126 yards through 11 games played.

The next injury to plague the Tigers on Saturday afternoon occurred in the third quarter, as key defensive end Jahiem Lawson went down and needed assistance getting to the sideline, unable to put any weight on his right ankle.

Initially, many thought the injury looked pretty severe, but according to Dabo Swinney, he's day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

"I think it's just a sprained ankle," Swinney told the media. "So we'll just have to see where he is day-to-day."

The biggest question for many was why the coaching staff kept him in during the third quarter, even after Clemson had turned mainly to backups following a commanding 31-3 first-half lead.

Swinney, however, took full responsibility for the decision, explaining that it involved a package they usually run with Lawson on the interior, which caused the veteran coach not to see the 6-foot-2 lineman out there.

"I wish he wasn't [in]," Swinney vocalized. "It was a package, I thought we had everybody out, honestly. That's a package where he's inside, and honestly, I didn't see that; that's on me. 100% he shouldn't have been in there, and if I had really seen it, I should have called a timeout and gotten him out of the game."

While the injury shouldn't be season-ending, it's a significant blow to Clemson's front seven, especially on the edge, as Lawson is having a career year there. The junior has recorded 19 tackles, six for a loss, 3.5 sacks and three pass deflections in 2025.

Outside of in-game injuries, Swinney also gave an update on true freshman defensive tackle Amare Adams, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in practice this past week.

The former five-star prospect logged 110 snaps through 10 games as a rotational piece on the interior.

"He's going to be out for the year," Swinney concluded. "Unfortunately, he got hurt in practice on Tuesday or Wednesday, I can't remember. It was his ankle, so he's going to have to have a tight rope. Again, he'll be fine, but he's going to be out."