By Will Vandervort.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett isn’t likely to play in the Russell Athletic Bowl against No. 24 Oklahoma on Monday.
The sophomore has not practiced all week and spent each day in Orlando in a t-shirt and shorts while the rest of the team prepared for the Sooners.
“He is probably going to be out. Thank goodness for big Rod Byers. He has really come through for us,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said following the Tigers’ final practice of the season on Saturday.
Leggett injured his knee in practice back in Clemson and sat out the last three practices there before the Tigers’ left for the holiday break.
Swinney said Byers has practiced in Leggett’s place all week. He and Sam Cooper will be Clemson’s two tight ends in the game – the only two healthy enough to play. Of course Jay Jay McCullough has been suspended from the team indefinitely and Stanton Seckinger had knee surgery earlier this month and is listed out for the game.
“We are really, really glad we made that move a couple of months ago or whatever,” Swinney said about Byers. “We did anticipate being this thin at tight end, but that is how it worked out. He has really given us a good bump up in the position so we will roll our sleeves up and go to work with Coop and Big Rod.”
Final practice. Saturday was Clemson’s final practice of the football season. The Tigers will have a walkthrough at the team hotel on Sunday before playing Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Swinney says the last practice of the season is always a mixed bag because it is the last one he will have with his seniors.
Of course this senior class has accounted for the most wins in school history with 41 victories.
“This is the last time you are going to be on the practice field with a great group of seniors,” Swinney said. “That is the thing that is always a sad thing to me. We will see if we can strap it on one more time and send these guys out with a win. That’s what we are focused on.”
A lot of wins. The senior classes for Clemson and Oklahoma have a combined for 80 victories over the last four years, 41 by Clemson and 39 by Oklahoma. Clemson’s 41-11 record is tied for the seventh most wins among FBS teams the last four years and Oklahoma’s 39-12 record is tied for the 12th most wins.
Lawson and Battle to return? Swinney says he expects defensive end Shaq Lawson and left tackle Isaiah Battle to return to Clemson and not forgo their senior seasons for the NFL.
“I certainly expect them to be back,” Swinney said.
Lawson will be a true junior next season, but he is eligible for the draft because he did spent one year in prep school before coming to Clemson. Battle will be a redshirt senior next fall. Neither player has turned in their paperwork to the NFL Draft Advisory Board.