Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media Monday evening as the Tigers head into their open date this weekend.

Swinney gave some bad news from an injury standpoint, saying starting nickelback Corian Gipson will be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Gipson will have to undergo season-ending surgery, according to Swinney.

“He’s going to have to have knee surgery, with his meniscus,” Swinney said. “He’ll probably be out for a few months. I really hate that for him, because he had just gotten back. So, that’s a big, big loss for us.”

Swinney added that Gipson’s injury is the same that limited him to just two snaps in the UNC game and kept him out of the Cal game entirely. Swinney said Gipson played through the pain against Miami, but after the game, the doctors said he needed to get his meniscus fixed.

“It was after the game (when they found out about it). He got hurt and was out of the Cal game and was not able to make the trip,” Swinney said. “We thought he was back and he tried to go against North Carolina, but I think he came out after the first series or whatever, and we could not get him ready to go against Cal. So, he has been kind of battling it. He played (against Miami) and played through it, but somewhere in the game (he hurt it) and we MRIed it. Dr. Martin said he really needs to fix the meniscus, so that is a big loss for us.”

So, with Corian Gipson out, who steps in for him?

Swinney said that defensive backs Ronan Hanafin and Donovan Starr will see more playing time, and starting cornerback Ashton Hampton will also see time at nickel, which means backup defensive back Branden Strozier will get more reps at corner. Swinney also mentioned defensive backs Marcell Gipson and Misun Kelley.

“You got (Donovan) Starr and, obviously, Ronan (Hanafin) plays in certain packages as well, but Starr and Marcell (Gipson). Marcell is back and is healthy. He was a kid that was really making some big strides in camp. He then got hurt and missed a lot of time. He has kind of been ramping up these past couple of weeks. Tink (Misun Kelley) is in there as well,” Swinney said.

“Ashton played a good bit of that the other night matching up, so now you probably put Strozier on the field a little bit more, so we have some options, so losing Corian is certainly a big loss for us.”

Gipson has appeared in four of Clemson’s five games this season, starting those four games. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior collected four tackles at LSU, added five tackles vs. Georgia Southern and then posted five tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup vs. Miami.

After playing 14 defensive snaps over four games while redshirting in 2024, Gipson was credited with 14 tackles and three pass breakups in 189 defensive snaps over 12 games (three starts) in 2025 and earned Clemson’s starting Tiger nickelback role down the stretch.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Gipson came to Clemson as a four-star prospect and top-100 national talent in the 2024 recruiting class, but an ACL tear early in his senior year of high school set him back.

After the upcoming open date, Clemson returns to the field on Saturday, Oct. 17, when the Tigers host Charleston Southern at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon on ACC Network.