Bad news, Clemson opponents: Dexter Lawrence was nowhere near 100 percent in 2017

Dexter Lawrence did his best to play through injuries during the 2017 season, but it was clear that the Clemson defensive tackle was not at full strength throughout his sophomore year.

Lawrence spoke with the media for the first time in months following Tuesday’s preseason practice and revealed just how banged up he was last season.

“I was about 45-50 percent,” Lawrence said. “Now I’m feeling much better. It’s a big turnaround for me. It’s a blessing. I didn’t know if it was ever going to come back. I just kept with it, and now it’s coming back more.”

Lawrence had toe surgery last offseason and then battled a foot injury throughout 2017.

The 339-pounder detailed what was hampering him.

“I had got a nerve block during surgery, and it had irritated some of my nerves in my leg and my foot. It took a while to come back,” Lawrence said. “I never dealt with nothing that serious. I always had, like, rolled up ankle or hands, but nothing ever that serious. I just had all the guys, every guy on the team was on my side, pushing me through it, making me go to rehab, keeping me accountable, things like that.”

Lawrence played in 12 of Clemson’s 14 games last season, missing contests against Florida State and The Citadel. He finished with 39 tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Those numbers were way down from 2016, when Lawrence recorded 62 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 6 .5 sacks. Still, his 2017 season was impressive, considering what he dealt with.

Fellow All-American defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was aware of what Lawrence was going through last year and did his best to help him through it.

“The thing is letting him know how good he is. He’s still good enough to dominate the guys,” Wilkins said. “He just seemed like he was down mentally; physically, obviously, is one thing, but if you’re not over the mental hump — that’s the hardest part to get over. So really just being there for him. He always feels like I’m a guy he can lean on and talk to about anything, so just being there for him, talking him through some stuff — being a big brother for him.”

The fact that Lawrence is now healthy is great news for the Tigers and bad news for Clemson’s opponents.

The Tigers had a dominant defensive front last year, even with Lawrence banged up.

“Last year around this time, I had club foot, basically. That’s what Christian calls it,” Lawrence said. “But I can get on my toes again. I can bounce on them. I can move. I’m getting my speed back. I’m feeling good.”

Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables can’t wait to see what his defense will look like with a healthy Lawrence in 2018.

“There’s not a harder, more physically demanding position to play on the team than defensive tackle, so playing on one leg is a hard thing,” Venables said.

“A healthy version of Dexter Lawrence is a very good thing. It’s like … way different.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 9:18 PM.