By Heath Bradley.

Earlier this morning Clemson offensive Coordinator Chad Morris told reporters that he expected right tackle Gifford Timothy to be back and able to start Saturday night versus the Auburn Tigers. This is welcome news for an inexperienced Clemson offensive line. Timothy, a redshirt sophomore suffered a knee injury early in fall camp, an injury that was once thought would keep him from appearing against Auburn. His speedy recovery has surprised the coaches and his experience will be key facing a defensive line as talented as Auburn’s.

This afternoon Timothy spoke with members of the media about his injury, rehab, and preparation for Auburn. Timothy is hoping that his rehab continues well and that he is given the opportunity to start for the Tigers on Saturday night.

“A lot of that depends on how practice goes this week. That is my plan and that is what I hope for.  As far as who starts, that is the coaches decision, but that is what I am hoping for,” said Timothy.

Timothy understands that his playing time will be determined by how healthy he is, so the current state of his knee rehab gives him an optimistic outlook heading into this weekend.

“I have been feeling really good. It has not been swelling up as much that has mainly been my only issue with it. I haven’t felt any pain for about half a week now,” said Timothy.

After missing a majority of fall camp after the minor surgery to repair his meniscus and set his knee cap back in the proper place, Timothy is finally getting back into the flow of the normal day to day grind of football. One interesting note from Timothy was that just going back to class, walking around campus has been good for his knee, those walks have allowed him to keep his knee loose throughout the day.

Timothy admitted he was a little slow when returning to the practice field last week but his knee felt strong and is only getting better with time. Excited to be back on the field and preparing for Auburn, Timothy understands the challenge he will face this weekend from a defensive line with the talent Auburn has. Timothy said that the coaches have done a great job using scout team players such as Kellen Jones to simulate what they will see on game day from Auburn, while also crediting being able to work against a player like Malliciah Goodman daily in helping preparation.

According to Timothy the biggest key to slowing down a defensive line with the talent of Auburn will be their ability to use his hands effectively. Being able to get a hand on the defensive player before they can execute their pass rush move will allow Timothy to use his footwork as well as his hands to slow down the pass rush. Auburn will surely look to show a variety of blitzes and schemes at the Tigers in hopes of confusing the line and causing pressure for Boyd. Having a player with the experience of Timothy on the field will likely be a big asset for the Clemson offense Saturday night.