The official punishment for Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins following his drug arrest early last month remains to be seen, but coach Dabo Swinney shed a little more light -- with an emphasis on “a little” -- today regarding Watkins’ fate.
Speaking with reporters, Swinney said he expects Watkins to miss some time this season. Just how much time hasn’t been determined.
“Is there a chance he doesn’t miss any time? Probably not,” Swinney said. “I’m not going to make any decision until we get closer to playing time and the main reason for that is Sammy has a process he has to deal with; some things he has to fulfill this summer. A lot of that is going to depend on how he responds and so far he has hit a home run in every category of how he has responded to this situation.”
Watkins was charged for simple possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance, with the latter possession charge related to two schedule-2 non-narcotics pills for which he did not have a prescription. Both of the charges are misdemeanors.
Swinney said a week after the arrest that Watkins’ punishment would be determined at a later time. Clemson opens the 2012 season against Auburn.
As a true freshman last season, Watkins led the Tigers with 82 receptions for 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns.
In other news, Swinney said that Clemson remains “1000 percent committed to the ACC” and that “going to the Big 12 is the worst thing we could do as a program. It makes zero sense.”
“It’s really impacted and affected our recruiting,” Swinney said. “I’ve had to spend a lot of time re-recruiting guys and assuring them that we’re not going to the Big 12.”
“So it’s been a real distraction and it’s been negative, quite frankly.”
So, take that for what it’s worth, I guess.