Clemson Pregame Injury Report: Updates See Key Starters Sidelined

The Clemson Tigers will see losses on both sides of the ball that could prove to be important today.

Clemson safety Khalil Barnes (7) is out today with an injury. He will continue to come back from a lingering injury. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers will be kicking off its ACC campaign without some of its key players on both sides of the ball. 

After all being reported as questionable according to the ACC mandatory injury report, wide receiver Antonio Williams and safety Khalil Barnes were both downgraded to out on Friday’s injury report. Offensive linemen Tristan Leigh and Elyjah Thurmon are also both out. 

Williams will remain with only one drive under his belt from the 2025 season, injuring his hamstring against LSU on the team’s opening drive on Aug. 30. The Tigers have only averaged 18.5 points per game and are looking for their offense to wake up. It will be up to Bryant Wesco Jr., Tyler Brown and T.J. Moore to aid the air attack. 

Barnes has been nursing an injury since fall camp, missing significant time throughout the last two months. Look for Kylon Griffin, Ricardo Jones and Ronan Hanafin to continue to aid the secondary in his place. 

In the trenches, head coach Dabo Swinney will be without his starting left tackle and a key rotational piece in Leigh and Thurmon, respectively. The offensive line will continue to shuffle and will look to give quarterback Cade Klubnik enough time to get the offense going. 

On the other side of the field, Georgia Tech starting quarterback Haynes King is available to play, meaning Clemson will play its opponent at full strength today. 

Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.