Marcus Edmond expected to return; Swinney says getting healthy is 'critical.'

This was not the senior season that Marcus Edmond wanted to have.

Without his two huge plays against Louisville and N.C. State last season, the national championship doesn’t return to Clemson.

In Clemson’s second game of the season against Auburn, Edmond sprained his right foot and has been out ever since. His foot has been healing in a complicated way, and he hasn’t been able to get back to 100 percent, but he is close.

Swinney said that Edmond would have been better off if he foot had actually been broken instead because it would have probably healed easier and faster.

His progress has been a process, and Swinney hoped that Edmond would have been available against Florida State. Swinney is asked weekly to give an update on his status, which must be frustrating without much change to it.

On Saturday against The Citadel, Edmond is expected to get back out there.

“I think you’ll see him in there this week,” Swinney said Tuesday. “He’s done well. He’s the best he’s been, and hopefully, he can be a big shot in the arm for us down the stretch. Obviously, he’s very experienced. He’s knowledgeable. And we could really use his expertise and experience for this stretch run.”

Even though he hasn’t been on the field, he still commands attention in meetings and has played a different role off of the field.

“I was just trying to get myself better in the training room and then when I got a chance to talk to them, help them out with plays, everything that was going on,” Edmond said. “Coaching through it, just telling them other teams I played against and my experience playing against other teams that they probably didn’t play against yet.”

Edmond playing will help a depleted Clemon defense that has been clamoring to get healthy for weeks now. His veteran-like play can help the Tigers tremendously in the passing defense that has not played very well the last couple of weeks.

Edmond said that this experience has given him a greater appreciation for the game and for his time at Clemson.

“It’s different not being out there because you’re hurt and not just because of something else,” Edmond said. “It’s just the fact that you take more things like, walking maybe, or running, you take that more seriously than you had before.”

Clemson Sports Talk

Marcus Edmund gets helped off the field after being injured against Auburn.

Swinney will be glad to have Edmond back this Saturday, but he also believes that Edmond’s career is far from over.

“He’s the epitome of our program. And just a young guy that came here and has developed,” Swinney said. “He’s developed into a great player. I think it’s just a shame he’s been hurt, but I’m not going to be shocked at all if he doesn’t make a team at the next level.

“Marcus has maintained a great attitude. He’s continued to be a good leader in those senior meetings… I’m just very hopeful that he can have a good, positive experience down the stretch here.”

Getting healthy a priority.

After injuries have banged up Clemson’s defense, the Tigers need to get their pieces back in place if they are going to make championship runs.

Swinney said yesterday that Dexter Lawrence would be held out of action this week to continue nursing his injured foot. Lawrence got hurt while playing Georgia Tech when he was blocked low.

He tried to play against N.C. State, but re-aggravated the injury and didn’t play against Florida State.

Tanner Muse is continuing to progress with the recovery of the bone that broke in his hand in the first quarter against Georgia Tech.

Muse has played with a club on his hand, but that has limited him in the last couple of games. Swinney said that Muse is coming along nicely.

“Tanner’s going to be a lot better this week,” Swinney said. “They were able to cut it down, and he’s going to have a lot more mobility and flexibility and range of motion. I think that’s going to help him. That’s really the biggest thing with him. Other than that he’s good to go. Just really getting where he can have a little more range of motion in his hand.”

Swinney said Tuesday that it’s “critical” to get everybody that is hurt back on track over the course of the next week.

“It’s important. We’re going to try to get everybody as healthy as we can down this home stretch. The fortunate thing is we have played a lot of guys this year. We’ve got some guys that have got some good, quality experience, and we’re going to need that down the stretch.”