Former linebacker still heartbroken that three of his teammates did not get to play in the CFP
Kendall Joseph said he was not one of the 18 Clemson football players tested for performance enhancing drugs by the NCAA prior to Clemson’s Cotton Bowl victory over Notre Dame on Dec. 29.
Joseph said the NCAA drug test will vary, but usually it will test players for PEDs and Clemson itself will do tests for street drugs, such as marijuana.
“I got tested I think three times during the season,” Joseph said prior to an autograph session at The Fan Zone in North Charleston this past Saturday. “Clemson does it right.”
Joseph says the positive results for Ostarine in defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence’s, tight end Braden Galloway’s and offensive lineman Zach Giella’s samples were “a freak thing.” The three players were suspended by the NCAA for the College Football Playoff Semifinal game against Notre Dame, as well as the national championship game a week later against Alabama.
Galloway and Giella are also facing a year long suspension should Clemson fail to prove the two players unknowingly took Ostarine in its appeal to the NCAA. All three players have maintained they had no knowledge of taking the illegal substance that is banned by the NCAA.
According to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, there was just a trace amount of the drug found in their system.
Lawrence, who was with Joseph and fellow defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on Saturday, is anxious to see if and when Clemson finds out how the Ostarine got into his system. The 6-foot-5, 350-pound defensive tackle says all he can do when he is asked about how the PED got into his system is to be honest with people, especially with teams that might be interested in drafting him in April’s NFL Draft.
“Just tell the truth. That is all that I can do,” he said. “You know, it was heartbreaking when I heard about it. It is just life. You have to get tested sometimes just to bring out your character, so that is just how I am going about it.”
Joseph says he does not expect to be asked anything about PEDs at the combine because Swinney was very up front about the suspensions and why the three players were suspended for the Cotton Bowl.
“Clemson has a good reputation. Coach Swinney has a great reputation,” Joseph said. “He was upfront from the beginning. He did not say he just suspended players for undisclosed reasons or anything like that. He just kept it real.
“Maybe I will (get a question) or maybe I won’t. But we have nothing to hide at Clemson.”
As far as being curious as to how Lawrence and the others tested positive for Ostarine, Joseph is not losing any sleep over it.
“I don’t even like talking about it because there were some guys that did not get to play,” he said. “They put their heart and soul into the season and to Clemson and then … Dexter Lawrence is 6-5, 350. Dexter Lawrence does not need PEDs.
“So, it is just heartbreaking for that, but it is over with. We were able to play well without the people we missed—Zach Giella and Braden Galloway. We hated that, but that is life. Sometimes unexpected things happen, and you just have to keep moving forward.”
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