Re: TNET: Swinney on Clemson defensive end being out for year, possible redshirt

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Re: I hate I knew this when I first heard he was out

Nov 8, 2022, 11:09 AM

I truly hate it for this young man also Blood. It's his decision on what he feels will be best for him, But, I hope that he doesn't put any trust in what the talking heads are saying about his draft stock, and I hope he doesn't pay much attention to where he is being told he could be drafted at, bc we have seen to many listen to that crap, and never get drafted in any round.

If it was me with the same injury keeping me on the side lines so much the last couple of seasons, for me it would only be one choice if playing in the was that important to me. I would get my injury as sound as any surgeon could get me to while telling me that it was the best as it would ever get.

I would find something that I could use to keep as much pressure off my foot as possible without hindering my playing speed, and I would come back and play another season with the hopes that I didn't miss any time from any game bc of my foot, and prove to the NFL scouts that my foot was just fine, then I would throw my name in the hat to be drafted.

If XT don't do that, he probably won't be drafted, and any free agent deals would most likely end before he has the time to get his foot right and prove that it was healed. Once these young guys get a chance without an injury, in the NFL it's be a worth to them now, or they don't want you. And that is why I believe he must come back to Clemson for another season, and prove that his foot was good enough to play a full college FB season while wreaking havoc in the back field of all the O lines we played against.

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very doubtful an NFL GM out there would risk ANY draft pick on a player with his injury history, especially if he goes into the draft as a totally unknown status following missing basically a whole year with iterations of the same injury. This foot sounds like the type of thing that could EASILY reoccur, which is the biggest red flag you can have trying to enter the NFL.

I wouldn't have thought it even a possibility prior to the season, but to me, his best path forward now WOULD be to come back to Clemson, and establish that he CAN play a season without getting injured. Of course, that is a crap shoot in some sense as well, but there is so much uncertainty around him right now from a medical standpoint, it may be his best course of action. Mike Williams proved that it CAN be done, but, there are no guarantees of anything either way.

If nothing else, XT should serve as a huge cautionary tale to any high schooler who is putting all his eggs in the NFL basket. Talent, which XT undeniably has buckets of, cannot always overcome bad luck, so you better have a backup plan. A Clemson degree, with the job placement resources of our fine university behind you, is a FINE place to start.

TNET: Swinney on Clemson defensive end being out for year, possible redshirt