The hits keep coming up front for Clemson.

The Tigers were already dealing with some attrition along the offensive line heading into the spring, particularly on the interior (Matt Bockhorst, Hunter Rayburn and Mason Trotter). Now Clemson may go the rest of the spring without a couple of tackles because of illness.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Walker Parks and Collin Sadler are both battling mononucleosis, which kept them out of the Tigers’ second scrimmage Wednesday. Sadler is a true freshman going through his first spring as a mid-year enrollee, but Parks is a key cog on the edge. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound rising junior started all 13 games at right tackle last season.

Parks’ absence is forcing more shuffling up front. Swinney said Mitchell Mayes, who has been repping primarily at guard this spring, took the first reps at right tackle in the scrimmage.

“It’s good for him,” Swinney said of Mayes. “We’re getting some guys (reps) that are having to step into some different roles, and that’s going to pay dividends for us. He’s one of those redshirt sophomore guys, and there’s about four or five of those guys that we need them all to take that next step. He’s doing that.”

John Williams is also repping at tackle and guard while Marcus Tate is also capable of doing both, though the rising sophomore has primarily stuck at left guard this spring. The lone senior up front, left tackle Jordan McFadden, was limited to roughly 10 reps during the scrimmage, but Swinney said that was because he wanted to get more extended work for youngsters such as Tristan Leigh and Blake Miller, another true freshman.

“Really kind of gave all that work to some of those younger guys,” Swinney said. “That’s really where we need to get the improvement.”

Will Putnam continues to get most of the first-team work at center after sliding over from guard at the start of the spring. With Mayes getting more reps at tackle in Parks’ absence, Bryn Tucker is getting plenty of work at right guard. Swinney said centers Ryan Linthicum and Trent Howard are also cross-training at both positions as well as Mason Trotter, who played both a season The Tigers are making do with what they’ve got for the time being as the door continues to revolve up front.

“Just got a lot of guys getting a ton of work that really, really need it,” Swinney said. “From that standpoint, I feel really good about it. But we’re just thin in some areas.”