Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence on how 2 weeks off helped prepare him for stretch run

Dexter Lawrence injured his foot against Georgia Tech and tried to play through the pain the following week against N.C. State without much success.

The sophomore then took two weeks off before returning against South Carolina and believes that he is ready to play his best football of the year at the end of the season.

Lawrence started and played 29 snaps against the Gamecocks, recording a solo tackle and a quarterback hurry. He is hoping to have an even bigger impact this weekend against Miami in the ACC title game.

“It felt good getting back on the field, just being out there with the boys. I missed it,” Lawrence said. “It hurt a little bit sitting out those two weeks. I’m definitely much better. I’m happy I took that rest and ready to finish the season out strong with my guys.”

Lawrence had toe surgery in the offseason, and his foot was still bothering him some even before suffering an ankle injury against the Yellow Jackets.

He tried to block out the pain and play through the injury for a while, but eventually he needed to rest it.

“It’s more of a mental thing that I try not to think about too much. I knew it was there. I was playing well through it,” he said. “But at some point they just kept targeting it kind of, and I just had to rest it a little bit and try to get a little healthier to finish off the season stronger. I would say it didn’t bother me too much until those past two weeks.”

HIGH SCHOOL FLASHBACK

Hunter Renfrow made the longest catch of his career Saturday night against South Carolina, catching a screen pass and dodging through Gamecocks defenders for a 61-yard score.

Renfrow caught two touchdowns against USC and said the 61-yard reception made him think about his high school days at Socastee running the triple option as a quarterback.

“Something we have been working on hard all season is the bubble screen,” Renfrow said. “Ray-Ray (McCloud) did a good job, he did a good job covering the guy up. … And it kind of broke open. From there I felt like I was in high school again running the triple-option. It was fun.”

TOP TEAM

Clemson is ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll after its win over South Carolina and Alabama’s loss at Auburn.

The Tigers are now focused on staying there for one more week before entering the College Football Playoff.

“If we’re the No. 1 team we’ve got to play like it. None of that stuff matters. It seems like the last few weeks the No. 1 team has gotten beaten so that doesn’t matter at all,” defensive end Christian Wilkins said. “You’ve got to go out there and perform and compete and win. From a leadership standpoint we’ve got to keep the guys’ minds off of those outside sources and factors and just focus on us.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence on how 2 weeks off helped prepare him for stretch run."