It has been a taxing week for Clemson’s defensive line on the injury front.

On Monday night during practice, sophomore Austin Bryant, one of Clemson’s projected starters at defensive end, suffered a fracture in his foot that will sideline him for the first three games of the season.

On Wednesday night, true freshman defensive end Xavier Kelly was involved in a moped accident that flipped him, caused him to hit his head and left him with scrapes and abrasions. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said Kelly, who was not at fault in the accident, will be out about a week and “is lucky to be alive.”

Finally, starting defensive tackle Carlos Watkins was held out of Clemson’s final scrimmage of fall practice on Thursday afternoon with a wrist injury. The Clemson Insider learned that Watkins could miss two or more weeks with the injury.

However, despite the circumstances, Clemson sophomore offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt isn’t concerned about the defensive line.

Having faced Clemson’s defensive linemen every day in practice, Hyatt remains confident that the group is among the best in the country.

“I can’t imagine how much better any of the teams are going to be (on the defensive line),” Hyatt said following Thursday’s scrimmage. “I don’t want to underestimate anybody, but with the guys we go against, it’s hard to think there’s any other better D-line line out there.”

Along with Christian Wilkins, who will likely see more time at defensive end after Bryant’s injury, redshirt freshman defensive end Clelin Ferrell and redshirt sophomore end Richard Yeargin are two of the players tasked with filling the void.

Hyatt said both Ferrell and Yeargin have made strides in fall practice.

“Clelin has gotten a lot more technical and better with his hands, and he has gotten really good at dipping his shoulder,” Hyatt said. “Richard has improved so much since last year. He’s gotten stronger, he’s more physical and he’s gotten a lot quicker of the ball. He’s definitely a guy that’s starting to get a quick twitch off the ball, which is really good.”

On the inside, redshirt junior defensive tackle Scott Pagano and true freshman tackle Dexter Lawrence are set for an increase in playing time after the injury to Watkins.

Not only does Hyatt think Clemson’s defensive line will still get the job done when the season begins, he believes their performance in practice is making Clemson’s offensive line a better unit, too.

“It’s not fun,” Hyatt said of going against the defensive line in practice. “Our whole D-line, even the inside guys. It’s a rough day every day. Going against all of them every day is really rough.”