Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is optimistic All-American defensive end Shaq Lawson will play in next Monday’s National Championship Game against No. 2 Alabama. If you recall, Lawson injured his knee on the first series of Clemson’s 37-17 win over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

The ACC Defensive Player of the Year came back in the game on the next series, but was in obvious pain after sacking Baker Mayfield on a third-down play. He did return after the sack.

Swinney says Lawson will participate in practice when the Tigers hit the practice fields this afternoon in Clemson.

“We will get him back out there today. He looked pretty good (on Sunday), so far so good,” Swinney said during Monday’s College Football National Championship Coaches’ Teleconference. “We will see him out there today. I think the prognosis is good at this point, but he has to get out there and run around a little bit today and we will kind of go from there.

“But I’m very optimistic that he will be able to play.”

The Tigers (14-0) can sure use Lawson against an Alabama rushing attack that is averaging 204.4 yards per game. Of course most of that comes from Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, who is averaging 147.2 yards per game and has scored an SEC record 25 touchdowns. His 2,061 rushing yards is also an SEC record.

Even without Lawson, who leads the country in tackles for loss with 23.5, the Tigers held their own against an Oklahoma attack that averaged 235 rushing yards a game. Clemson held the Sooners to 67 rushing yards and to just 2.0 yards per carry. Fellow defensive end Kevin Dodd, along with defensive tackles Christian Wilkins, D.J. Reader and Carlos Watkins dominated the Oklahoma offensive line. Even freshmen defensive ends Austin Bryant and Richard Yeargin held their own while filling in for Lawson.

“That’s what it is all about, it really is,” Swinney said. “That has been the key for us this year. We lost ten guys off of last year’s defense to the NFL and six were D-linemen so we knew coming into this season the real key for us … we thought those front line guys, Shaq, Dodd, Reader, Carlos and those guys would be more than or as good as what we had last year. But we just weren’t going to have the same type of depth.

“You know last year we were taken Vic Beasley out and bringing in Shaq Lawson.”

Bryant had four tackles and a half of a sack in the Orange Bowl, while Yeargin also added a tackle. Bryant broke through on a key fourth-and-one play in the third quarter from the Clemson 30-yard line which ultimately changed the complication of the game.

“We knew we were going to be very young. You are going to have guys like Yeargin, Austin Bryant, Scott Pagano and Christian Wilkins,” Swinney said. “There were a lot of young players, but we were hopeful we could get through the first half of the season and stay healthy so we could develop those guys just a little bit and I think that is what you saw in the bowl game.

“Austin has played, maybe not as much as Shaq, but the cumulative effect of his experience and the practice and being able to bring him along at a healthy pace has been very beneficial for us and it paid off in the game the other night because he was ready to play and he was confident.”