Clemson defensive starter will miss national championship game with injury

Clemson will be down a defensive starter in Monday’s national championship game.

Defensive tackle Nyles Pinckney is our with an injury the team confirmed. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney announced during a press conference on Sunday he was. “hopeful” Pinckney would be able to suit up.

Pinckney suffered an ankle injury against Ohio State. He did not dress out for Saturday’s open practice.

The redshirt junior from Beaufort was a third-team All-ACC selection this season. He has started 13 of 14 games and has 27 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack. If Pinckney is unable to play, redshirt sophomore Jordan Williams is expected to get the start.

When does Clemson play LSU?

Who: Clemson vs. LSU

When: 8 p.m. Monday

Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans

TV channel: ESPN

Betting line: LSU by 5.5

This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 10:16 AM.

Matt Connolly

The State

Matt Connolly is the Clemson University sports beat writer and covers college athletics for The State newspaper and TheState.com. Connolly graduated from USC Upstate in Spartanburg in 2011 and previously worked for The (Spartanburg) Herald Journal covering University of South Carolina athletics. He has been with The State since 2015. Connolly received an APSE top 10 award for beat reporting for his coverage of Clemson in 2019. He has also received several SCPA awards, including top sports feature in 2019. Support my work with a digital subscription