Clemson star defensive tackle Tyler Davis to miss several weeks

CLEMSON — A key piece of Clemson’s defense is set to miss an extended period of time.

Tigers star defensive tackle Tyler Davis is going to miss seven-to-eight weeks, Dabo Swinney said Monday night on his call-in show.

Davis has a bicep injury and is having surgery on Tuesday. He played through the injury for most of the game against Georgia Tech and was in on critical plays late in the fourth quarter.

“it’s crazy. It just shows you how tough that guy is and what heart he has. He’s in there on the last play of the game. He knew something was wrong but he just said he felt fine,” Swinney said. “He’s playing all the way through this thing. He played all the way to the last play. Just played tremendous.”

The junior missed the first game of the season against Georgia due to COVID-19 protocol, but is one of the best defensive tackles in the ACC when on the field.

Davis played 51 snaps and had 7 tackles against Georgia Tech, despite not being close to 100 percent.

“After the game he finds out the bicep tendon has torn off. They’re actually going to do surgery in the morning and re-attach that. So he’ll be out for seven or eight weeks,” Swinney said. “Hopefully it heals up quick and he’ll be back for the stretch run. But what a great, great player and great game that young man played. He was tremendous.”

The Florida native was banged up much of last season and recorded 17 tackles, with 5 tackles for loss in limited playing time.

Davis played in all 15 games as a true freshman in 2019, making 13 starts. He earned second-team All-ACC honors after recording 51 tackles and 9 tackles for loss that season. His 13 starts were the most by a true freshman defensive lineman in school history.

With Tyler Davis out, the Tigers will need Ruke Orhorhoro and Tre Williams to step up at defensive tackle. Fellow Tigers star Bryan Bresee is dealing with a shoulder injury but has been wearing a brace and playing through the pain.

Clemson’s defense has been one of the best in the country through the first three weeks of the season.

The Tigers are the only FBS team in the nation to not allow an offensive touchdown yet this season. This is the first time since 1990 that the Clemson defense has held three straight opponents out of the end zone.