Clemson senior D.J. Reader steps away from football

Losing tackle D.J. Reader didn’t pierce the heart of the Clemson defense, though in losing its fourth starter in less than three months this won’t be the same team coach Dabo Swinney imagined after spring practice.

Reader, a senior from Greensboro, N.C., projected as one of the lynchpins on a defense that lost nine starters, told Swinney over the weekend he needed time away from football.

Swinney said he spoke to Reader’s mother and did not know if he would rejoin the team.

“We’re moving forward,” Swinney said after practice Tuesday. “Actually, it’s just like an injury. Next man up and we’re moving forward.”

Reader, who stands 6-foot-2 and 325 pounds, started three of the 38 games in which he appeared over three seasons, and totaled 27 tackles, including 2½ tackles for loss, last season. He was expected to bridge the loss of nose tackle Grady Jarrett, the heart of the nation’s top defense last season.

Senior Rod Byers, sophomore Scott Pagano and freshman Christian Wilkins are expected to press for time in Reader’s position, and Swinney said all three would play.

Byers would bring modest experience from most of three seasons on defense. Last October, he moved to offense and served as a blocking tight end when the position was depleted by injury. Pagano, a native Hawaiian, accounted for 10 tackles in four games last season.

A consensus top-50 prospect, Wilkins was one of the 15 players who enrolled in January and could become the starter very shortly. He participated in spring drills and reportedly practiced well during camp.

Junior Carlos Watkins, redshirt freshman Jabril Robinson and freshman Albert Huggins are to be in the mix for one of the two tackle positions.

Regardless, losing Reader shaved that much more experience from a defensive front that hoped to complement a well-stocked secondary.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve got good players,” Swinney said. “Hopefully, he’ll be back with us at some point. I have no idea, but that’s not my focus. My focus is on this team and making sure we’re ready to go.”

Swinney offered no further insight into the circumstances of Reader’s departure.

“These are still real people with real problems and lives, and they don’t always make good decisions and things like that and sometimes they have problems,” he said. “This is a decision he’s made, to step away for a little bit and (to) see if he can get himself better.”

Swinney’s disposition turned testy when pressed on details.

“I’m not going answer anymore questions about D.J. Reader. I put a statement out,” he said. “I’m going to talk about the guys on this team period — the end. All them other guys that aren’t here, that’s not who we’re focused on.”

He challenged the suggestion that personnel issues the past three or four months had been a distraction.

Since the dismissal in May of defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeiko following his arrest for financial fraud in the use of a credit card, kicker Ammon Lakip was suspended after an arrest for possession of cocaine, caught with marijuana during a traffic stop starting offensive tackle Isaiah Battle walked away from his final year of eligibility and entered the NFL supplemental draft, starting safety Korrin Wiggins tore an ACL during preseason camp and promising redshirt freshman Korie Rogers quit football, leaving depth at linebacker paper thin.

“I think it’s been a great three or four months,” Swinney said. “We have a lot of guys that had great summers and a great three or four months.

“This football team is focused and this football team is ready to play,” he said. “I still love our team. I love where we are.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Clemson senior D.J. Reader steps away from football."