Clemson defensive tackle D.J. Reader has decided to step away from the football team for an unspecified period of time.
Reader, a senior who was listed as a starter on the Tigers’ most-recent depth chart, is dealing with personal issues, according to head coach Dabo Swinney.
“D.J. Reader has decided to step away from football for a while,” Swinney said in a 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.”
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The 6-foot-3, 325-pound Reader played in 12 games and made one start for the Tigers last season and had 27 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Reader also had 43 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks in 2013 (three starts) and 40 tackles in 2012.
With Reader out, redshirt sophomore Scott Pagano and true freshman Christian Wilkins could potentially fill in as a starting defense tackle. Pagano played in four games and registered 10 tackles in 2014. Wilkins was a five-star recruit in the 2015 class and was rated by Rivals as the 21st-best player in the country.
“We will move forward at the tackle position,” Swinney said. “We have many players who will do an outstanding job in the defensive line.”
The Tigers open their season at home against Wofford on Sept. 5.
For more Clemson news, visit TigerIllustrated.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
