Before the start of fall camp, Dabo Swinney said there was no timeline on when wide receiver Amari Rodgers was going to return to the lineup, but they were hopeful he might be available by late September.

Clemson’s head coach was a little more vague on the subject during his weekly teleconference on Sunday.

Though he did not play in the top-ranked Tigers’ win over Georgia Tech last Thursday, Rodgers did warm up with his teammates, giving the impression his return might be sooner rather than later.

“I think he is really in a good place. I think he is really close. So, we will see,” Swinney said. “I think he is definitely ahead of schedule and doing great.”

Rodgers tore his ACL during spring drills, but by the end of the summer Swinney was praising his dedication to rehabbing the knee and how good he had been doing. During camp, the junior wide receiver was catching punts and running on the sidelines, though he could not practice.

After seeing him warm up on Thursday night, some are wondering if Rodgers is close enough to play in Saturday’s game against No. 12 Texas A&M.

“I think his timeline is moved up, and I would say anything is possible at this point,” Swinney said.

Rodgers was expected to be the Tigers’ starting slot receiver until his injury. He finished last season second on the team in receptions (55) and third in yards (575). He caught four touchdowns and also returned a punt for a touchdown against Boston College.

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