Veteran Clemson player forced to give up football
The injury bug of 2021 hasn’t let Clemson go just yet.
Tigers offensive lineman Hunter Rayburn has been medically disqualified from football due to neck/stinger issues, a school spokesman confirmed Thursday afternoon. He’ll now move into a student coaching role. The news was first reported by Larry Williams of Rivals.
Much like the rest of Clemson’s offensive linemen, Rayburn battled with injuries throughout the 2021 season but managed to start six times in nine games for a total of 506 snaps.
Prior to the start of the season, he was listed as a potential starter at center along with Mason Trotter. Matt Bockhorst, who tore his ACL on Oct. 29 against Pitt, emerged as the starting center for three games before Rayburn earned his first career start against Boston College and played the position. During the last two games of the regular season, the Pensacola, Florida native started at left guard.
Rayburn is the second offensive lineman Clemson has lost in the last three months after Paul Tchio entered the transfer portal on Nov. 2. He’s since announced a commitment to Georgia Tech.
Having already struggled with depth at the position, the Tigers will look to others to make up for the loss. The biggest relief is getting Jordan McFadden back. The redshirt senior started every game at left tackle and was the stabilizing force of the offensive line. The Tigers also return Trotter, Will Putnam, Walker Parks, who started every game at right guard, and Mitchell Mayes.
Redshirt freshman Dietrick Pennington and redshirt sophomore John Williams both suffered season-ending injuries early on in 2021 but are expected to be back, along with Marcus Tate. The rising sophomore started against Georgia and totaled eight starts and garnered playing time in every game for 627 total snaps.
Tristan Leigh made his college debut against S.C. State and got on the field against UConn for 20 total snaps. He redshirted, which could come in handy for the Tigers’ unit that has been plagued by injuries.
To help fill out the offensive line, the Tigers also signed two offensive linemen in Collin Sadler (Greenville HS) and Blake Miller (Strongsville HS, Ohio) from the Class of 2022. Both are four-star recruits, among the top 10 players in their respective states and nationally top 20 offensive tackles in the recruiting class. Much like Tate, the two could see playing time early to help fill the need on the line.
Clemson is set to begin spring practices on March 2.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Veteran Clemson player forced to give up football."
