Dabo Swinney’s Hopeful Tait Reynolds Injury Update Takes Heartbreaking Turn

Detailed summary

Clemson Tigers freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds tore a ligament in his left knee against Georgia Tech, and he’ll need surgery, On3’s Larry Williams reported Nov. 15. The new ...

Clemson Tigers freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds tore a ligament in his left knee against Georgia Tech, and he’ll need surgery, On3’s Larry Williams reported Nov. 15.

The news hits with Clemson at 6-4 and 4-3 in ACC play, facing a short turnaround before a trip to Duke on Nov. 20.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney indicated postgame that he’ll probably lean on Trent Pearman or fourth-string QB Brock Bradley against Duke, with both getting the first practice snaps.

His first read after the 20-6 loss sounded far less grim. Swinney said Reynolds was headed for an MRI and passed along what the training staff told him.

“All I can tell you is they said his knee was locked,” Swinney said. “They were trying to get it unlocked, and they couldn’t do that.

“They didn’t think it was a long-term thing, but he was definitely out for the game, so that’s really all I know about that.”

Reynolds went down on Clemson’s opening possession. He slid to finish a 7-yard run, rose limping, and needed help leaving. He later came back out with his knee braced.

The freshman had held the starting job since replacing Christopher Vizzina in Week 3. Reynolds has completed 156 of 241 passes for 1,449 yards, with three touchdown passes against four interceptions, and he’s run 110 times for 334 yards and two scores.

Pearman, the third-stringer, entered first because Vizzina had a bad ankle, then completed 2 of 6 passes for 6 yards before Swinney said he “didn’t have a good day.”

Opening of the article, excerpted from Newsweek. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.