What Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said about dismissing TJ Dudley from the team
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clemson football dismissed redshirt freshman linebacker T.J. Dudley on July 19 for a "violation of team rules." He subsequently entered the transfer portal about two weeks before the start of preseason practices.
At ACC media days Thursday, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney commented on the decision to kick Dudley off the team.
“It was a disappointing situation because he’s a good kid and a man,” Swinney said. “He had a chance to be a great player for us this year, so that definitely hurts us. It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got rules and sometimes it’s just best to get a fresh start. We wish him well.”
Dudley's dismissal left Clemson with seven scholarship linebackers on its 2023 roster. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter are the star duo at the center of the Tigers' defense. The rest of the group, even if Dudley were still part of it, lacks experience. Sophomore Wade Woodaz has the most snaps (180) of among Clemson returners besides Carter and Trotter. Redshirt freshman Kobe McCloud played three defensive snaps in 2022, and true freshmen Jamal Anderson and Dee Crayton are brand new to the college ranks.
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Clemson has 83 players on scholarship after Dudley's removal, two below the limit. One of the remaining two will go to whoever wins the starting long snapper job, either Philip Florenzo or Holden Caspersen. As for the other, Swinney isn't sure.
“Hopefully I can put a couple of my guys back on (scholarship) that were on previously that we had to take off," Swinney said. "Our starting snappers, those guys are pretty important. (Running back) Dominique Thomas, he’s pretty important to the entire football team. Hopefully we’ll be able to reward a couple of those guys as we go through camp.”
Christina Long covers the Clemson Tigers for the Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@greenvillenews.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney on TJ Dudley dismissal
