After missing the first six weeks of the season due a foot injury he suffered in training camp, Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant was ready to get in the thick of things.

When the sophomore fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said the injury would take four weeks to heal. Bryant was expected to miss the first three games of the season, but his recovery extended past Weeks 4, 5 and 6. At one point, there were questions if he was going to return for the 2016 season.

In actuality, the Tigers were doing okay without him. Christian Wilkins had moved outside and was dominating the left side of the line, while Clelin Ferrell emerged as one of the top young pass rushers in the country.

But Bryant was determined to get back out there, and Clemson wanted him back, too. Finally, in Week 7 against NC State, the 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive end returned. He played 27 snaps against the Wolfpack, while recording three tackles and sharing a sack with defensive tackle Carlos Watkins in the fourth quarter.

“It felt great just to be back out there with my team,” Bryant said afterwards.

Bryant was glad to be back out there, but he was also tired. After playing 27 snaps, the sophomore was exhausted.

“He came over to the sideline winded,” Hobby said.

Over the course of the next eight games, Bryant saw his snap count vary from game-to-game. He played a season high of 31 against South Carolina and a low of 21 against Syracuse. He finished the season averaging right at 23 snaps a game.

They were not big numbers, but they were what he needed. Hobby, who left Clemson on Wednesday to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive line coach, said to The Clemson Insider prior to the Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State that Bryant was finally getting back in football shape.

“I have been really pleased with him in the last three to four weeks,” the former Clemson coach said at the time. “People don’t realize, and they think, ‘Well, he is healthy now.’ But you lost six weeks of training, two-a-days and football training. Then he has to get back in football shape.”

Bryant was playing his best by the Tigers’ national championship victory over Alabama on Jan. 9, and even recorded a big tackle behind the line of scrimmage, one of seven for Clemson that night.

“He is moving better now, and he is getting closer to full strength,” Hobby said. “I’m really pleased with where he is going.”

Hobby says Bryant is in position to take over as the starter in the spring if Swinney, the new coach and defensive coordinator Brent Venables decide to move Wilkins back inside. If not, then Clemson has two capable starters, that play at a high level, battling for play time, and as Hobby said, that’s a good problem for Clemson to have.

—Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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