Swinney on how much D.J. Reader will play against Miami |
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said at Tuesday's press conference that they will bring back veteran defensive tackle D.J. Reader back slowly after he rejoined the team on Monday.
Reader had missed the first six games of the season dealing with personal issues. "We will get him out there today. Today is a full pad day and today and tomorrow are heavy work days. We will throw him out there," Swinney said. "I think you got to get a guy acclimated. Football is not like basketball and jump out there on the court and run around. This is a violent sport, especially when you are a nose guard. That's why the NCAA has an acclimation period when we start the season. You don't just run out there and start tackling each other. We got to be smart with him." Swinney said Reader would travel with the team to Miami, but may not see much game action. "It's hard to just throw a guy in there," Swinney said. "We have had a pretty good group in there playing, and this guy has been out since August. So he has to kind of earn his way back. You do that through practice. Maybe he plays and if he does I don't think he will play a whole lot if at all. But I think certainly by next week he will be ready to flex his muscles a little bit more." Despite missing the first part of the season, Swinney said Reader came back to the team in great shape. "He looks great. He says he has been working out and training and doing all that stuff," Swinney said. "His weight looks good. Physically he looks really good." 
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