Fall camp has officially begun and Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is already grinning from ear-to-ear, getting back to work on his quest for national title No. 3.
The Tigers have one of the best rosters in college football, led by a handful of projected first-round draft picks and All-American candidates. They're absolutely loaded heading into the season and it feels like everything is going according to plan.
While the headlines are a little too chummy in Clemson's favor (more than Dabo would like), he has reiterated that the team knows it needs to work and earn the positive headlines. It can't get caught reading its own news clippings.
In order for Clemson to reach its goals this season, it'll need to stay healthy. That's easier said than done because this is the time of the offseason when injuries seem to come out of nowhere and derail season outlooks.
According to Swinney, however, that's not the case for Clemson.
The Tigers' head coach provided a surprisingly positive injury update on Thursday as fall camp kicks off.
Swinney says TE Olsen Patt-Henry just got his tonsils out but it's a "short-term" injury, won't miss too much time.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) July 31, 2025
Freshman WR Juju Preston is battling a hamstring, Swinney adds.
The only long-term injury Clemson is facing right now is Billy Wilkes, a walk-on linebacker who injured his knee during the spring. That's not going to hurt the Tigers much seeing as they already have plenty of depth there and have two of the best linebackers in the country in Wade Woodaz and Sammy Brown. Plus, how much would we see a walk-on play on this defense anyway?
Tight end Olsen Patt-Henry had his tonsils removed but that won't cause him to miss much time, wideout Juju Preston has a hamstring issue which can be pesky, and Watson Young, Ari Watfod, and Jay Haynes will be "rolling pretty quickly", according to Dabo.
In terms of injury updates, it doesn't get much better than this.