Clemson will attempt to redshirt linebacker
Clemson’s coaching staff has made at least one decision concerning who will be one of the first players to benefit from the new redshirt rule.
Dabo Swinney was waiting for someone to ask him about James Skalski.
Finally, after Clemson’s Wednesday evening practice, the head coach wanted to break some news. Swinney announced the plan is to try and redshirt Skalski this season so he’ll have two more years of eligibility.
“He’s great, and he’s ready to go, but we are actually going to hold Skalski,” Swinney said after practice. “We’re going to try and see if we can steal a year back from him.”
Skalski, a junior linebacker from Sharpsburg, Ga., missed some time during fall camp due to a foot injury where a screw was placed in his toe. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said he has been very cautious giving Skalski reps because he didn’t want to re-aggravate it.
Skalski had been declared healthy and cleared to play over a week ago, but Swinney had another idea in mind.
“I’ve hinted on it a few times. The redshirt rule – now that we got options, there might be somebody on your roster that you might try to steal a year back. That’s kind of where we are with Skalski, and he’s excited about it… I think it’s a win on all fronts if we can do it.”
In 2017, Skalski had 37 tackles, two tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and two quarterback pressures in 174 snaps over the course of14 games. He averaged a tackle every 6.7 snaps, which ranked him third on the team.
He had been touted as one of Clemson’s highly skilled returning linebackers. But with the depth, the Tigers have at that position with Tre Lamar, JD Davis, and Kendall Joseph all being good enough to be potential starters, it allows the staff to be more flexible.
“We love our people at backer. We love our depth and functionality at backer,” Swinney added. “If we have some injuries or something, all bets are off. If everything stays status quo, we kind of get the best of both worlds. Because we can hold him, still play him four games, and kind of pick those games where we got a great player available and then get him back for two more years.”
The new redshirt rules allow any player who is listed as a redshirt to play in up to four games in a season and still maintain that status. Many believe it would only benefit freshmen who are talented enough to contribute right away but still have some growing to do.
It also allows the staff to “steal a year” of eligibility back if the right situation presents itself.
Even though Skalski will only make an appearance in four Clemson games this season, he’ll still be participating in practice every day in different roles. On Wednesday, he lined up at fullback for Venables on the scout team.
Skalski is healthy and talented enough to start right now, but with just how flexible the team is right now at linebacker the staff sees this as the most beneficial option down the road if everything was to work out in their favor.
Now, we'll just have to wait and see which opponents Skalski will be freed to compete against.