Clemson Tigers Starting Guard Back to Form After Grueling Stretch of Injuries

After missing the season-opener against LSU and dealing with a string of injuries all year, sixth-year offensive lineman Walker Parks is back and officially fully healthy ahead of the Florida State contest this weekend.

Additionally, he surpassed 3,000 snaps as a Clemson Tiger last weekend vs. Duke, making him the eighth player in program history to reach the feat.

In media availability this past Wednesday, Parks finally got the chance to reflect on what's been one of the most challenging stretches of his career.

"It's been a little different this year," Parks said. I played every game last year. I was healthy and felt really good. I had a solid rotation going with Harris [Sewell] last year."

Entering 2025, the continuity of the rotation was supposed to carry over. The formula of splitting reps between the two heavily helped protection on the right side, allowing only four sacks in the 2024 regular season, according to PFF.

However, things changed before the season even began for Clemson.

"We were planning for the same thing this year; getting split reps at right guard," Parks continued. "But then, going into the season during fall camp, I rolled my knee a little bit. Thankfully, I didn't tear anything, but I strained it enough that I couldn't really get full motion and run on it. So that put me out for the first game."

With Parks out vs. LSU, Sewell and sophomore Elyjah Thurmon had to step up to the plate. The two delivered, allowing just one pressure and one quarterback hurry in the contest.

After missing the season-opener, Parks tried to work his way back against Troy, playing a single drive before realizing his body still wasn't right.

"Then, the Troy game I played one drive and didn't feel great, but it felt good getting back out there," he said. "So I kind of worked off that and worked back in a little bit."

He would go on to play all 63 snaps in Clemson's first conference game against Georgia Tech.

But unfortunately, the injuries just wouldn't stop coming for the 6-foot-5 guard, who suffered a brutal injury against Syracuse that he tried to play through but ultimately couldn't.

"Then Syracuse – first play of the game, I went out there and fractured a rib," he explained. "At the time, I thought the wind got knocked out of me, so I tried to keep going, and then we got to halftime, and they scanned it and said they couldn't see anything there at the time. Then I went back out there in warmups, and it was hard to breathe. After the first or second drive, I pulled and hit somebody and was like, 'I can't play physical right now, this is killing me.'"

Parks exited the game, paving the way for backups Sewell and Thurmon to receive more snaps yet again. In the contest, the two young linemen allowed three pressures and three quarterback hurries.

With injuries piling up, Clemson's offensive line depth was tested once again, and it didn't get any easier for Parks.

"Then, I popped my calf during conditioning," he relayed. "So just some weird tweak injuries."

While it's been hard for the sixth-year to stay on the field consistently in his final season with Clemson, Parks has kept an active presence in the locker room and film room.

"But at the end of the day, I mentioned this last time we had meetings, we've got talent and we've got guys," he told the media. "So, regardless of the weird injuries I've had happen this year that are unfortunate, it's been a great opportunity for other guys to play and for me to lead off the field from a different position and still be extremely engaged in meetings and practice and coaching up the younger guys and get them an opportunity to play some more too."

Now, with the Tigers preparing for a crucial late-season stretch, Parks is finally back on the field and feeling closer to 100%.

His return couldn't come at a better time as head coach Dabo Swinney announced this past Monday that backup guard Elyjah Thurmon will miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury during practice leading up to the Week 6 North Carolina game.

"I'm super thankful to be back on the field and working through now," he finished. "But it's definitely been different with the three things I've had going on."