CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney is not sure when he will be able to name all of his starters on the offensive line, but Clemson’s head coach is encouraged about his options and the unit’s overall depth.

“I think we have eight guys that can start, that are in the mix to start,” he said. “That is a really good thing. I am really excited about (them).”

Swinney believes he has at least 12 players who can and will play on the offensive line this season. The ninth-ranked Tigers have not had that kind of depth on the offensive front since 2019.

“I think we have a ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth guy that I have no problem playing,” Swinney said. “We probably will not put them all in there at one time, but I would have no problem playing any of those four guys at any point in the game. We have not had that in a while, so I am really excited about what we have up front. Thomas [Austin] has done an amazing job.”

Austin, who played for Swinney from 2008-’09 and later served as a graduate assistant at Clemson from 2015-’18, became the Tigers’ offensive line coach in 2022. In his first year, Austin took over a young offensive line that had four starters that were new to their position.

This year, Clemson returns those players—Will Putnam at center, Marcus Tate at left guard, Walker Parks at right guard and Blake Miller at right tackle—plus four others who saw playing time in 2022, including guard Mitchell Mayes, who filled in for Tate when he went down with a season-ending injury late in the year.

“I think we have recruited well, and I think these guys have developed,” Swinney said. “Again, we just have Putnam that is headed out of here, so this is a really good group. We are trying to cross train some guys, mix and match some guys… I would like to have (a starting lineup) sooner than later, but the good news is I do not see a situation where, whoever those eight guys are, they all can go play.

“It might be a game or two before we can really say this is our best combination, especially when you only have two scrimmages.”

Speaking of scrimmages, Clemson will hold its second and final stadium scrimmage of camp on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.

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