Dabo Swinney updates recovery of Ian Reed, commitment to return

The Clemson Tigers are looking to get offensive lineman Ian Reed back after he was forced to miss time. However, as head coach Dabo Swinney explained, it’s a long road home.

Swinney explained during Fall Camp that Reed is, thankfully, healthy again. He’s just not ready after missing time to be working with the starting unit and needs to get back up to speed.

“He’s working with our two’s right now. Tackle,” Dabo Swinney said. “He’s not where he needs to be. I mean, he’s a kid that missed – he was in the hospital for a month last year. So, he missed basically all of last year and was very limited.”

Last December, Swinney shared that Reed wasn’t injured. Instead, he’d been dealing with a kind of illness. However, he did not share the exact nature of the illness, just that it was keeping him from practicing ahead of the Tigers’ bowl game.

“But I will say this about Ian, he is a very committed kid. He’s super talented. He’s got all the tools, big, he’s strong, he’s a good athlete,” Swinney said. “But he just hadn’t played football in a while. He’s healthy, and so he just keeps showing up every day. But he really believes in himself, and if you’ve got that and you have talent, the rest will come for you. But it’s still a little fast for him.”

Despite those issues that Ian Reed is dealing with, head coach Dabo Swinney is confident in Reed. That’s in no small part because of how hard he’s working to get back to where he needs to be.

“He’s a guy that we just keep bringing that water every day, just keep pouring it on him, and hopefully one of these days good stuff is gonna happen,” Swinney said.

Ian Reed came to Clemson as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He is a native of Austin, Texas, like Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik. There, Reed was the 268th-ranked recruit in the country overall.

Last season, Clemson was 43rd in rushing offense, gaining 174.31 yards per game on the ground. They were also 84th in sacks allowed, giving up 2.23 sacks per game. Those are both numbers that Clemson will look to improve upon and having an improved offensive line will be key to that. Getting Ian Reed back up to speed is, in its own right, a key piece of that puzzle.