With Clemson starting offensive guard Collin Sadler out for the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Penn State, redshirt freshman Ronan O’Connell may have to step up.

O’Connell is an option to replace Sadler in the starting lineup. O’Connell is listed, alongside redshirt senior Dietrick Pennington, as a starter at left guard on Clemson’s offensive depth chart for the Pinstripe Bowl, and O’Connell was seen taking first-team reps at left guard during the media viewing windows at bowl practices on Dec. 15 and 17.

Should O’Connell be called upon to play a bigger role on the O-line in the Pinstripe Bowl, veteran Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller is confident in him to get the job done.

Miller recently spoke highly of O’Connell and his development over the course of this season.

“I have all the faith in the world in Ronan,” Miller said. “I see him do it day in and day out in practice. And then also, too, the eagerness he has to learn from us older guys, and he’s very good at taking feedback and always wanting to get better and better every day. He approaches practice with the right mindset. That, to me, is really big.

“And then, too, he just understands the offense. He understands what we’re trying to accomplish offensively. That, to me, is also big – like, being able to have a bigger understanding than just what you’re doing.”

O’Connell powered Page High School to Tennessee’s state championship game in each of his last three seasons before enrolling at Clemson in January 2024. He was named all-region all four years of his career and was the Region Player of the Year as a senior, when he also earned all-state honors. He was listed by Rivals as a four-star prospect and the seventh-best player in Tennessee for the 2024 recruiting class.

During his redshirt year in 2024, O’Connell played seven offensive snaps and became a key special teams contributor late in the season while appearing in six games. This season, the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder has appeared in eight games, playing 57 offensive snaps.

Miller believes O’Connell has the tools to be successful and will be ready if he’s closer to the forefront in the Pinstripe Bowl against the Nittany Lions at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 27 (noon, ABC).

“If you can have all those things in order, whether that’s your mentality, whether that’s your understanding, and your physicality. I think he has all those things in order,” Miller said. “So, I’m excited to watch him go out there and play, and I think he’s going to do awesome.”