Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced during his weekly radio show Monday night that a Clemson defender is likely done for the year.

Swinney said transfer defensive tackle Markus Strong will likely be out for the season after the injury he suffered against LSU.

“Strong is gonna probably be done for the year unfortunately,” Swinney said. “He was our one big injury.”

Swinney had previously said during his Sunday teleconference that Strong would likely be out “for a while.”

Strong suffered a lower leg injury in this past Saturday’s season opener against LSU. The Oklahoma transfer went down on the field with four minutes remaining in the third quarter, was attended to by trainers, and did not put any weight on one of his legs as he was helped off the field.

Strong spent his first three college seasons at Oklahoma from 2023-25, helping the Sooners to the College Football Playoff in his final season with the program, before transferring to Clemson in January.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder was credited with 10 tackles (four for loss) and three sacks in 14 games at Oklahoma. He played 11 games in 2025, logging seven tackles (two for loss) and a sack, after appearing in two games in 2024, with both of his two tackles on the year being sacks. He appeared in one game while redshirting in 2023.