CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson will play the rest of the regular season without nickel back Donovan Starr, head coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday, Nov. 8, a hit to a secondary that was already missing Corian Gipson.
Swinney said Starr had been improving steadily and could possibly return for a bowl game. Until then, Branden Strozier will take on a bigger role at nickel, with Marcell Gipson Jr. also working at the spot.
The coach was pleased with the defense in the road win at Syracuse, which he said came down to red-zone stops and takeaways, but he was openly frustrated with an offense that keeps stalling inside the 20. He blamed a mix of drops, penalties, sacks and other miscues, and said the good news is the Tigers keep creating chances.
Clemson (6-3, 4-2 ACC) now returns to Memorial Stadium for Senior Day against Georgia Tech (2-7, 1-5 ACC) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. It will be the 250th game for Swinney as head coach, a mark only Frank Howard has also reached at the school, and the Yellow Jackets were his first opponent as interim coach on Oct. 18, 2008.
Georgia Tech leads the series 52-36-2 and won last year in Atlanta on a 54-yard field goal at the gun, though Clemson has won eight straight against the Jackets at home. Kicker Nolan Hauser enters the week tied for the school record with 27 field goals this season.
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