On his weekly radio show Monday evening, Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney made two major announcements about his team.
First, Swinney made it known that defensive tackle Tyler Davis would be forced to miss 6-8 weeks as a result of surgery to repair a torn bicep suffered in the Tigers dramatic 14-8 escape of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, who gave Clemson a scare at home.
Davis, who was ranked the 58th overall recruit in ESPN's rankings for the 2019 recruiting class, was expected to be a major player on defense this season for the Tigers. Davis had an immediate impact on the defensive line in his true freshman season, and was expecting to have a major bounce back after multiple injuries derailed his 2020 campaign.
Davis was unavailable in Clemson's opening week loss to Georgia due to his placement on the Covid-19 restricted list, but tallied seven tackles between the South Carolina State and Georgia Tech games, filling the middle of a Clemson defense that has been the difference between a 2-1 and 1-2 start while the offense continues to struggle in finding its identity.
Part of the struggle in finding that identity has been the tumultuous season of running back Lyn-J Dixon, who was expected to fill part of the major gap left by first round NFL draft pick Travis Etienne, after Etienne joined former Tigers' QB Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. However, before the season started, disciplinary issues off of the field placed Dixon in the doghouse with Clemson running backs coach CJ Spiller, resulting in his suspension for the first half of the contest with Georgia.
Dixon, who was expected to be the starter for offensive coordinator Tony Elliot's run game this year, never regained the role, running five times and catching one ball against Georgia Tech, and getting only four carries and zero catches against South Carolina State in Clemson's first victory.
Dixon, who is expected to graduate in December, is unlikely to return to the team, though entering the transfer portal does not obligate him to leave and he could return to the football program, if allowed.
