Swinney rules out two players for Louisville game

Tony Crumpton by Assoc. Editor -

After practice on Wednesday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said that two players, Austin Bryant (foot) and Adrian Baker (knee), listed as questionable earlier in the week for the Louisville game will not play.

"He's (Bryant) not quite ready, but he is getting better," Swinney said. "He's not quite ready for the show, but he's inching closer. He's doing pretty good but he is kind of getting his football legs back and there is no way we are going to throw him out there in a game like this. Now that he's been cleared, he has to work his way into the football part of it. He's doing all of the competitive work and he's inching closer.”

Bryant suffered a broken bone in his foot in the preseason after having 35 tackles, two tackles for loss, four quarterback pressures, a fumble recovery, and 1.5 sacks in 13 games last season. In last season's Capital One Orange Bowl, Bryant came off the bench for the injured Shaq Lawson and had eight tackles including half a sack on 63 snaps.

Last season, Baker played in 12 games and had 13 tackles and two interceptions last season (FSU and SC). His crucial interception late in the first quarter in the red zone against Florida State turned the momentum of the contest towards the Tigers.

In other injury news, wide receiver Hunter Renfrow will dress but only as the third team holder for an "extreme emergency" situation.