Sometimes there are some things more important than football, and sometimes that means you need to step away from the game to take care of those important issues away from the field. Whatever the case may be, that is what is happening with Clemson defensive tackle D.J. Reader. The starting defensive lineman is stepping away from Clemson’s football team for an undetermined amount of time, head coach Dabo Swinney announced Tuesday.
“D.J. Reader has decided to step away from football for a while,” Swinney said in a released statement. “He has some personal issues he has to deal with at this time. We are not sure when he will return. We will support him any way we can. This is no different than a player being lost for a period of time due to injury.”
The loss of Reader, for whatever amount of time, is a tough blow for Clemson’s defense. The senior was to be a starter this season after getting some starting experience last season. He enters this season having recorded 110 tackles and 4.5 sacks over the last three seasons. Clemson’s options to fill in the hole on the defensive line appear to be redshirt sophomore Scott Pagano and freshman Christian Wilkins.