Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced during his weekly Sunday teleconference that redshirt junior defensive end Jahiem Lawson needs tightrope surgery on his ankle and will be out for the rest of the season after going down in Saturday’s win over Furman.

So, with Lawson being out, who steps up at defensive end for the Tigers and helps replace Lawson’s production?

Swinney says that redshirt freshman Darien Mayo and redshirt junior Caden Story are next up, behind starting defensive ends T.J. Parker and Will Heldt, and veteran backup Cade Denhoff.

“We’ve got the three main guys, you know, with Denhoff and with T.J. and Will. Those guys have done a nice job for us all year,” Swinney said. “So, the next guy up will be probably Mayo, Caden Story. That’d be probably those two guys.”

Swinney also mentioned that true freshman defensive end Ari Watford was just cleared to play after rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered during his senior high school season. The former unanimous four-star prospect made his college debut with one tackle vs. Furman.

“We did get Ari Watford. It was his first time to play football in quite a while, because he just got cleared to play,” Swinney said. “So, he got in there for a few snaps. But Caden and Mayo will be the two main guys [to replace Lawson] from a depth standpoint.”

Story has played in four games this season, tallying two total tackles, while Mayo has played in five games this season and recorded one tackle.

Clemson (6-5) returns to action on Saturday against rival South Carolina. Kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia is set for noon on SEC Network.