Any sunny argument for Clemson as a potential playoff team blistered this week.
With the arsenal of offensive weapons, including quarterback Deshaun Watson and the nucleus of talent returning on defense, an ACC championship was not a stretch. And while a league title does not
guarantee a spot in college football’s Final Four, a sweep of the schedule could push Clemson into the conversation.
The possibility of losing three players to arrests since spring practice, two this week in drug-related incidents, casts a shadow over the sunny optimism and created two gaping holes, one of which might be difficult to fill.
On May 19, sophomore defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko was dismissed from the team after being charged with financial transaction fraud. He has since transferred to Tennessee State University.
Then on Wednesday, senior kicker Ammon Lakip was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on June 6 by Clemson police and subsequently charged with possession of 0.4 grams of cocaine.
Thursday the school announced that senior offensive left tackle Isaiah Battle would leave to enter an NFL supplemental draft due to “some family matters,” when in fact, Battle was dismissed from the team after being cited for possession of marijuana and speeding.
Dabo Swinney was faced with three distinctly different and progressively troubling situations.
Ogundeko, an intriguing talent from Brooklyn, N.Y., was about to see a spike in playing time in the defensive line rotation, so replacing him should be seamless. And losing Lakip for any portion of the schedule could be crippling, though there are options.
Most ominous was facing the season without Battle.
On the threshold of becoming a big-time talent, he was listed as the No. 5 offensive tackle in college football by two top recruiting services. NFLDraftScout.com on CBS Sports listed him as the No. 79 overall senior entering the season, which would potentially launch him into the mix for consideration as a first- or second-round draft pick in 2016.
Like Ogundeko he is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., but a world away from Lakip in affluent suburban Atlanta, Battle grew up East Flatbush, an area prone to gang violence.
His parents shipped him to a boarding school in Virginia after the eighth grade, and at Blue Ridge, he excelled in basketball, but Coach Del Smith convinced him to try football. Battle started as a rush end on defense as a junior, then Smith took him to several college camps.
After graduation, Battle attended Fork Union Military to assist as much in his football education as academic before enrolling at Clemson.
Swinney remembered Battle as raw as a spring onion, though the size and athleticism were undeniable. Ironically, Swinney conceded last spring, that with the quality of recruits Clemson recently attracted a project like Battle mightn’t be offered a scholarship today.
Battle occasionally hit a speed bump, but worked through those issues to become an intriguing if not impressive player.
By all accounts Lakip has been a good citizen and teammate. Those possibly were factors in Swinney considered when choosing to levy a suspension. Three years ago All-American receiver Sammy Watkins faced a possible three-game suspension after a drug arrest, but worked during the summer for a reprieve and missed only two games.
After Battle’s latest dust up, Swinney probably didn’t feel he had the latitude he does with Lakip or did with Watkins.
Losing Lakip for even for two or three games could be painful. Swinney could take a page from the Danny Ford playbook and consider scouting the soccer team for additional options.
On the other hand, after three significant injuries during his freshman year, quarterback Watson needs to be safe and Isaiah Battle was the best tackle on campus, let alone one of the best in college football.
No disrespect to Mitch Hyatt, but going from a potential high-round draft pick to a freshman would be huge, possibly crippling blow to Clemson’s chances of winning the ACC, let alone joining the playoff
conversation.