Clemson Tigers Seeing Injury Bug At Unfortunate Time Entering Syracuse Matchup

On Monday night, head coach Dabo Swinney brought up several key starters who will miss time throughout November.

Clemson running back Gideon Davidson (8) and center Harris Sewell (55) were injured and are expected to miss the Syracuse game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Clemson Tigers are coming off one of their most important wins of the season, seeing all three phases come together for a win over the Florida State Seminoles last Saturday night.

However, head coach Dabo Swinney isn’t going to have some of the critical pieces from that game, and all season, for a little bit of time. 

On Monday night, Swinney took part in his weekly Tiger Hour, talking for the first time about Clemson’s performance and what’s to come in the upcoming week for the program. However, what caught the eye of many listeners was the number of players who will miss a good amount of time down the stretch of this season. 

Of course, the unfortunate case of guard Elyjah Thurmon and his neck injury should see him out for a chunk of time, going down on the field and having to be transferred to Florida State University Hospital. However, he’s not the only lineman out for a while, as center Harris Sewell is “going to be out for a few weeks” after going down in the game against the Seminoles. 

Swinney also said that Sewell needs a minor surgery, hoping to get him back later this month. 

The injury means that true freshman Grant Wise will be getting the start at center, the first start of his career, against the Syracuse Orange this week. Although it’s his first season of college football, Swinney expects him to have the experience to deliver at this point. 

“He’s played in big games,” he said. “He’s played on the road. He’s not a freshman anymore.”

Another player who is expected to miss the matchup with the Orange is starting running back Gideon Davidson. Instead of the sophomore, it’s now Jarvis Green who is the starting running back entering this contest. It will be the first start of his collegiate career, and SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. will be the backup with Jay Haynes. 

At linebacker, Clemson loses key piece Kobe McCloud, who Swinney says is set to miss a couple of weeks with another injury against the Seminoles. McCloud rotates with senior Jeremiah Alexander at the second linebacker spot, and now that the graduate has walked off, former walk-on Fletcher Cothran should see more snaps at that position moving forward. 

The Tigers are depleted, but are looking to capitalize on the momentum that they got in Doak Campbell Stadium on Halloween night. They’re going to need plenty of young pieces to step up in a push to make a late surge for the ACC Championship.

Kickoff is set for noon from the JMA Wireless Dome in upstate New York, with the game being broadcast on ESPN2.