Dabo Swinney said D.J. Reader looked okay when the massive defensive tackle made his return to the Clemson football team on Monday, but it was just one day in shorts. The coaches will get a better evaluation today on what kind of football shape the senior is in when the Tigers workout in full pads.
Reader has missed the last two months after requesting a leave of absence from the team while he worked on some personal issues. Clemson announced his return to the team on Saturday prior to its 34-17 victory over Boston College.
“Today is full pad day, today and tomorrow, so we will throw him out there. You have to get a guy acclimated. It’s not like basketball. You just don’t jump out there on the court and run around,” Swinney said. “This is a violent sport, especially when you are a nose guard. That’s why the NCAA has an acclimation period when we start the season.”
Swinney said Reader checked back in good shape, but it doesn’t guarantee he is physically ready to perform on the football field.
“I think we have to be smart with him. We will throw him in their today and get him some inside work, and get a lot of fundamental, pass rush and team pass,” the Clemson coach said. “We will start working him today and tomorrow, so that’s all we got in pads work. We have a group that is game ready so I don’t know if he will play much, if not any, this weekend. We will just see how it goes.”
The Tigers, who will travel to Miami on Saturday, don’t really need Reader. Clemson ranks 10th nationally in total defense, 12th in passing defense and 14th in scoring defense so it has been fine without him. Of course, they certainly welcome back his 6-foot-2, 325-pound frame.
“We’re excited to have Reader back. It gives some relief to the middle guys,” said left guard Eric Mac Lain. “I don’t think the timing could be any more perfect. It’s a fresh face and fresh body.”
Swinney said they were always hopeful Reader would return, but for the best interest of the team, they moved on without him.
“We were hopeful, that’s what he told me when he left,” he said. “Hopefully, he could deal with some things he was dealing with and come back. I did not know when (he might come back). It was not something I was going to sit around and worry about, though. We moved on. That was the focus.
“I’m glad that he is back. He seems like he is a good place, mentally.”
Swinney says Reader looks great. He says he has been working out and training on his own during his two-month hiatus.
“His weight is good, and physically, he looks really good,” Swinney said. “This guy has been out since August so he has to earn his way back, and you do that through practice. If he does, I don’t think he will play a whole lot, if at all. I certainly I think by next week he will be ready to flex his muscles a little bit more.”