Clemson secondary banged up entering showdown with Virginia Tech
Clemson could be without three of its top four cornerbacks when the Tigers face Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Marcus Edmond has not played since injuring his foot in Week 2 against Auburn, Trayvon Mullen suffered a concussion this past Saturday against Boston College and Mark Fields suffered a glute injury against the Eagles and missed the second half of the game.
“Trayvon, as y’all know, is in the concussion protocol… Mark Fields had a pull in his glute area so we’ll just see where he is,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said during his teleconference on Sunday.
If the three are unable to play that would leave Ryan Carter and true freshman A.J. Terrell as Clemson’s starting cornerbacks. Carter, a senior, has played great this season, while Terrell has received minimal playing time but did record an interception late against Boston College.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in A.J. He’s gotten better and better, got some good experience, is going to be a great player,” Swinney said. “He’s got good instincts, so we’ll see how it all plays out. K’Von Wallace is another guy who can go play corner for us without any problem at all. So we’re going to be all right.”
KICKING GAME THOUGHTS
Alex Spence was 4-for-5 on extra-point attempts, and one of his three kickoffs went for a touchback in the win against the Eagles.
The game was Spence’s first as a starter after Greg Huegel tore his ACL in practice last week.
Overall, Swinney was pleased with Spence’s performance and has confidence in him moving forward.
“He did OK… We feel like it’s something that he can build on,” Swinney said. “Just a solid day. He had more pressure on him than anybody. He finds out Thursday that he’s the starting kicker and he’s a guy that hasn’t had a ton of experience, so I was proud of him. I really was. It was a good game for him to go and build on.”
DABO ON DESHAUN
Former Clemson star Deshaun Watson had his best game as a pro with 301 passing yards, 41 rushing yards and two touchdowns Sunday afternoon at New England, but Tom Brady rallied the Patriots for a 36-33 win against the Texans.
“I did text Deshaun and told him that, man, I thought he did such an awesome job. He led his team and had great poise. He put them in position to win, but at the end of the day, Tom Brady just had a little too much time, and that’s why he’s a Hall of Famer,” Swinney said. “(Deshaun is) off to a great start, and all of us around here, y’all know he’s just going to get better. He’s just a great leader and a great winner and a great teammate. He’ll be an awesome ambassador for the Texans for a long time.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Clemson secondary banged up entering showdown with Virginia Tech."