Injury Hour: Swinney updates Tigers' health ahead of "gritty" Pitt

Swinney says the Tigers are facing a gritty Pitt team.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Tuesday, November 12 2024

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spent time with the media Tuesday to preview this weekend’s game at Pitt, but the first order of business was updating the injuries the Tigers are facing late in the season.

Clemson (7-2, 6-1) is a 10-point favorite over Pitt (7-2, 3-2). The game is set for a noon kickoff on ESPN with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), and Molly McGrath (reporter).

Starting left tackle Tristan Leigh went out early in the win over Virginia Tech and starting left guard Marcus was a late scratch.

"They're truly day to day,” Swinney said. “We thought Tate was going to play until breakfast last week. Leigh, structurally, everything is OK. He's just day to day."

Wide receiver Tyler Brown (TightRope surgery) is closer to a return.

“He could probably be ready by the South Carolina game,” Swinney said. “We may try to get his year back if we can hold him. We have 18 days left in the season, so we'll see how it all plays out. It would be great for him if we could hold the year. He'll certainly be available for postseason."

Starting defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart was injured against Louisville and missed the Virginia Tech game.

"Yes, he's out,” Swinney said. “He's out this week for sure."

As we noted earlier, offensive lineman Collin Sadler is done for the season.

"Yes, he's out. He's got to have surgery. We thought he might be able to get back, but it wasn't getting better, so he had to have the surgery,” Swinney said. “I feel terrible because he busted his butt and tried to play. He was a starter for us. We already lost Ian Reed out of the gate. And we're trying to hold Mason Wade. Next thing you know Sadler is done, Tate is out and Tristan is out. So you have Blake and Elyjah Thurmon. It was impressive to see what Elyjah did. He has stayed ready all year. Great job by Matt Luke, too, in getting him ready. I'm proud of Elyjah."

Swinney said the Tigers will have their hands full with Pitt.

"Another really tough challenge again this week with a gritty, well-coached, Pitt team who has had a great year. They're coming off a close loss against Virginia where they had a couple of their key players hurt,” Swinney said. "This is a typical Pat Narduzzi-coached team. All of his teams are tough and gritty. He has a great staff. It's a great place to go play a game. We didn't get a good result the last time we were up there. I have a lot of respect for their program.

"They have one of the top offenses in the country. They're throwing the ball all over the park. A lot of tempo. They have some electric players, receivers and tight ends involved. They have an absolute rocket in the backfield who can do it all. He's fifth in the country in all-purpose yardage. This is a really, really good team that will challenge you. You're going to see a lot of RPOs, zone-reads, the ball is out quick ... so we have to do a great job. We want to create consistency down the stretch defensively, but it's easier said than done. This is a physical group up front on offense. Both quarterbacks are good players. I don't know what (Eli) Holstein's status is. We just always assume everyone is playing.”

The Panthers are one of the top teams nationally against the rush.

"Defensively, they are aggressive and have a million pressures. They stress you from an ID standpoint. They're hoping you ID the wrong guys because they have a bunch of players coming free,” Swinney said. “They're top 15 in the country in rush defense by nature of what they do. It's another physical group up front. They will get after the passer, and they're downhill with their back seven. They challenge you physically to make competitive plays.

"We're looking forward to it. It's a noon game and looks like we'll have some good weather. It's an opportunity for us. It's our last conference game. If we can finish 7-1 in the league after 4-4 last year, that would be great improvement for us year-over-year."