Clemson Tigers Lose Two Offensive Linemen For Remainder of 2025 Season

After the Clemson Tigers picked up their first ranked win over the No. 22 Louisville Cardinals this past Saturday, head coach Dabo Swinney revealed some unfortunate news from injuries that occurred in the win.

On his Sunday media availability press conference, Swinney said that freshman offensive lineman Brayden Jacobs and sixth-year Walker Parks will both miss the remainder of the season with respective injuries.

Jacobs suffered a foot injury after celebrating on the field with the team after the win. He has started the last four games on the left side of the offensive line, switching between left tackle and left guard when necessary.

Swinney added that Jacobs’ injury won’t halt any progress for spring camp, but he won’t be back in time to make it for the final two games of the season, and potentially a bowl game, if Clemson wins another game before the end of the season.

Parks has been on and off the injury report over the course of the season, being the starter at right guard for Clemson’s last three games. He suffered an ankle injury during the Tigers’ win on Friday night and did not return to the game.

The Clemson head coach, who has seen Parks continue to return from lingering injuries over his collegiate career, said that the decision “breaks my heart”, with the Lexington, Kentucky, native being out of eligibility.

Suffering the injury in his home state, Swinney said that the game meant a lot to Parks entering the contest, and suffering the injury had an emotional impact.

“We’ll have to see where Walker is and what kind of happened,” Swinney said after the game on Friday. “I don’t really have much detail on that, but I know that game meant a lot to him. He’s from up here, and his dad played at Kentucky, so I gave him a game ball at the end.”

In the two starters’ places, there are a few candidates who will lead the way for the line for the remainder of the season. Collin Sadler will be returning to the lineup, according to Swinney, starting in the Tigers’ first seven of their eight games before suffering an injury against SMU.

Harris Sewell is another name that has seen plenty of snaps over the course of the season, playing in every game this season so far, mostly at right guard in place of Parks while he has been injured. Other players that Swinney mentioned were Ronan O’Connell and true freshman Gavin Blanchard, who the team was planning on redshirting this season and has not seen the field.

The offensive line will continue to shuffle under coach Matt Luke, who will look to find a new-look lineup for Clemson’s home finale against Furman next Saturday.