⚡ CFB Dashboard

Some bad news for a team that just gave up 309 yards on the ground. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney officially announced that defensive tackle Markus Strong will have surgery on Thursday and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season. He suffered a lower-leg injury against LSU in his first game action with the Tigers. Strong, a fourth-year player that transferred in from Oklahoma this offseason, recorded one tackle on 25 defensive snaps in the Tigers' 51-10 loss to LSU on Saturday night. He was expected to be one of the top options at defensive tackle, a position with a lot of question marks right now. He had seven tackles and sack in 11 games with the Sooners in 2025. On a similar note, Swinney said that Vic Burley is back at practice this week, but won't play until the North Carolina game in Week 3. He has been suspended from the team since August 22 after he was arrested for disorderly conduct — he was granted a conditional discharge four days later. Burley will be needed in a big way the rest of the season. Amare Adams and Andy Burburija are listed as the two starters on the depth chart this week. Champ Thompson and Devarrick Woods are the listed backups. Makhi Williams Lee and Kam Cody combined to play 10 snaps in the opener, albeit in garbage time. The staff is hopeful Kourtney Kelly could return from his injury at some point. While Strong can no longer file for a medical redshirt under the new 5-for-5 rule, he does have one more year of eligibility remaining and could return for Clemson in 2027.