Clemson Tigers Offensive Lineman Will Miss Rest of Season Due to ACL Injury

The Clemson Tigers got dealt some bad news this week with the injury to an offensive lineman.

Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers got dealt a difficult hand this week, as head coach Dabo Swinney announced that redshirt junior offensive lineman Dietrick Pennington is out for the season with an ACL injury.

Pennington got into the game on special teams during the week one loss to Georgia as well as playing a career-high 31 snaps on offense last weekend against Appalachian State in a blowout win, a number that was more than half of the 54 snaps he had played in his career over 12 games.

While delivering the news during his Tuesday media availability, Swinney would also state that the team is hopeful to get this year of eligibility back for Pennington and allow him to return next season with two years of eligibility still remaning.

"He’s gotta have his ACL repaired," Swinney said while describing the injury that Pennington suffered in the victory. "He had kind of what they call, it wasn’t fully torn, but I think it’s one of those deals where it’s not going to heal back up, so they’ve gotta fix it. So really I hate that for that kid...he really was starting to come on. Just a setback for him, but he’s in a good place mentally and knows what he’s gotta do. But that’s another tough loss for us, for sure."

Pennington was a four-star prospect in the class of 2021 out of Evangelical Christian High School in Cordova, Tennessee. 247's rankings had Pennington as the No. 138 overall prospect in the class as well as the No. 9 interior offensive lineman and the No. 4 overall player in the state of Tennessee.

While things have not quite panned out for Pennington thus far as a player who was highly rated when entering the school, he was starting to show signs of improvement before the injury and if he can come back healthy next season, he will likely push for playing time.

In the meantime for the Tigers in 2024, it's a hit to the depth along the line as the team gets set to navigate an ACC schedule that begins this week against North Carolina State.