Week 7’s Saturday off for Clemson football, according to head coach Dabo Swinney, was extremely beneficial to the team’s health. When the Tigers (4-2, 2-2 ACC) travel to Miami for their Week 8 match, he stated on Tuesday that they will be “mentally and physically probably in as good of a spot as (they’ve) been since the beginning of the season.”
In his prediction, Swinney stated that “everyone available” would face the Hurricanes on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ACCN. This implies that against Miami (4-2, 0-2) three starters who have missed time should be able to play: cornerbacks Sheridan Jones and Nate Wiggins and wide receiver Antonio Williams.
Williams’ ankle issue has kept him out of three games. With 604 yards on 56 receptions as a freshman, the sophomore slot receiver led Clemson. He has 15 receptions for 145 yards in his three games in 2023. Tyler Brown, a rookie wide receiver who had been starting in the slot, is currently Clemson’s second-leading receiver going into Week 8.
Due to a knee injury he sustained late in the Florida State game, Wiggins missed two games. According to Pro Football Focus, the junior has been one of Clemson’s best defensive backs and has the team’s best coverage grade.
Due to terrible headaches he had on the way to the stadium, Jones was forced to withdraw from Clemson’s game versus Wake Forest at the last minute. Jones underwent a number of tests, according to Swinney, but everything “checked out” for the fifth-year corner.
Robert Gunn III, the kicker, has made significant development as well. Following the Wake Forest game, Swinney announced that Gunn was practicing no kicks at all due to a quad problem, just showing up to kick off on Saturdays while Jonathan Weitz handled field goal duties. Swinney stated on Tuesday that Gunn had resumed practicing field goals.
