Clemson CB Marcus Edmond in line for first career start
Former Lower Richland star Marcus Edmond appears poised to make the first start of his college career when Clemson hosts Troy on Saturday.
The redshirt junior cornerback entered fall camp atop the depth chart before missing most of preseason practice with a hamstring injury. He did not receive any playing time at Auburn, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters Wednesday that Edmond has a good chance of starting this week.
“Edmond earned that spot, and he didn’t do anything to lose his job,” Swinney said. “He’s finally back now, and he’s had an excellent week of practice. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start it off.”
Fellow cornerbacks Ryan Carter and Mark Fields are also in line to receive playing time at cornerback, in addition to Clemson’s top cornerback Cordrea Tankersley.
Fields made two tackles at Auburn, while Carter made one.
Easy Decision
The decision to put in a package to use 6-5, 340-pound freshman defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on offense was an easy one for Swinney after Lawrence arrived at Clemson in January.
Lawrence lined up beside fellow defensive lineman Christian Wilkins in the backfield in Clemson’s opener and the two paved the way for Wayne Gallman to score a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the second quarter.
“When we signed Dexter and I saw him this spring,” Swinney said of how the formation came about. “Those are some big, heavy-duty guys that take pride in that.”
First Run
Freshman linebacker Tre Lamar is nervous for Saturday but not because of what will happen between the lines on the football field.
Lamar is set to run down the hill at Death Valley for the first time in a real game.
“I might need to take a couple of practice runs,” he joked. “I’ve only got the one from the spring game so I’m going to hope I don’t trip and embarrass myself on TV so we’ll see.”
This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Clemson CB Marcus Edmond in line for first career start."