Clemson DC Brent Venables Updates Injuries at Linebacker Heading Into Notre Dame Rematch
Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables joined head coach Dabo Swinney in being "hopeful" that starting middle linebacker James Skalski will be able to play in Saturday's ACC Championship Game against No. 2 Notre Dame.
The senior missed the first meeting, a 47-40 win by the Irish in double overtime, after having a procedure on his groin, and the No. 3 Tigers (9-1) gave up a season-high 208 rushing yards to Notre Dame (10-0).
"We feel like he's going to be close to, if not 100 percent," Venables said Monday. "He's practicing today. He was very ambitious about getting back as early as he did. Just a wonderful job by (head trainer) Danny Pool and the staff in our training room."
Skalski, who's made 27 tackles this season, missed three consecutive games while recovering and returned against Pitt on Nov. 28. The following week, Skalski played just one series at Virginia Tech before sitting out the rest of the game after having trouble staying loose on a cold night.
Venables also confirmed that son Jake Venables, who was Skalski's backup on the depth chart, is out for the rest of the season after having a rod put in a broken arm he suffered at VT. The sophomore had a solid season in the most meaningful playing time of his career. He's in the top 5 on the team with 31 tackles.
Venables said it's hard any time you see any player's season cut short due to injury, but it helped Jake that he's close to home where his mom and sisters could "love him up."
"He wasn't perfect but very proud of him, grading pretty close to 85 percent on the year, second on the team in tackle production points per play," Brent Venables said about Jake. "So a really strong year but plenty of things to improve on in the offseason. We're trying to keep him engaged. He's got a lot to look forward to."
With Venables out and Skalski's status still uncertain, the Tigers would turn to Kane Patterson, who's already going to see snaps against the Irish. Venables said he's practiced well the last two weeks and his confidence has risen.
"He's worked hard all year," Venables said about Patterson. "Proud of him and he's coming along well."
