Clemson kicker suffers broken leg after being hit by truck while riding moped

Clemson reserve kicker Quinn Castner suffered a broken leg on Thursday morning. He was hit by a truck while riding his moped on campus. Castner had surgery on a compound fracture of his lower leg on late Thursday afternoon. He is resting comfortably and doing well after the surgery, according to a report from David Hood of tigernet.com.

Castner is a fifth-year graduate student out of Fort Mill, South Carolina. He has played in just two games during his time with the Tigers. And finished one-for-one on his only extra point attempt. He also finishes the year two for two on kickoff attempts.

Before enrolling with Clemson, Castner enrolled at Nation Ford High and went 13-for-14 on field goal attempts and 35-for-35 on extra points his senior year. He earned a degree in bioengineering in May of 2024 and was a two-time ACC honor roll selection (2021 and 2023).

More on Clemson facing Virginia this weekend

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and Virginia head coach Tony Elliott have been close for 20-plus years. Elliott played for Swinney when he was the receivers coach at Clemson back in 2003, before joining Swinney’s staff a few years later.

Now the two will face off this Saturday leading their own programs. Swinney spoke about just how special Elliott is to him ahead of the ACC matchup.

“I’m not old enough to be his dad, but that’s kind of the relationship we’ve always had, honestly,” Dabo Swinney said. “We’ve had that type of relationship from the first time I met him, as the new coach coming in and taking over a room.

“Tony was a captain for me and such a leader at a young age. We just had a great relationship. He’s incredibly smart. He was one of those guys early on, even though he was still a player, we just connected on a deeper level.”

Tony Elliott was hired as the running backs coach at Clemson in 2011 ahead of Swinney’s third full season as the Tigers head coach. Elliott stayed on staff under Dabo Swinney for 11 years, serving as the offensive coordinator when the Tigers won a pair of national titles.

He left to be the head coach of Virginia ahead of the 2022 season after an incredible run at Clemson.

“He became a great running backs coach, and he became a great tight ends coach. And even though he had never called a play when Chad left, I made him the play caller and named he and Jeff the co-coordinator and Tony would run the room and call the plays,” Swinney said. “I mean he’s amazing. He did an awesome job.”

On3’s Matt Connolly also contributed to this article.