Deon Cain and two others are suspended by Clemson for the College Football Playoff.
Clemson suspended three players, including second-leading receiver Deon Cain, for violating team rules and sent them home from the Orange Bowl, Coach Dabo Swinney said at a news conference on the eve of the No. 1 Tigers’ playoff game against Oklahoma.
Cain, a freshman, caught 34 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns while splitting time at Clemson’s No. 2 receiver position with Charone Peake, becoming a favored deep target for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Cain led the Tigers with 17.1 yards per catch.
In addition, Clemson benched reserve tight end Jay Jay McCullough, who hasn’t caught a pass this year, and backup kicker Ammon Lakip, who Greg Huegel had replaced as starter earlier in the season. If Clemson defeats Oklahoma on Thursday, all three players will be suspended for the national championship game.
“When you don’t do the right things, there’s consequences,” Swinney said. “It’s just really that simple. It’s not a very complicated matter at all. Just got 115 guys, and 112 of them did what’s right and three of them didn’t. So they forfeit the opportunity and the privilege to be a part of the game.”
Swinney minimised the impact that banning the three players could have on the rest of his team, choosing instead to give the majority of Cain’s snaps to Peake, a senior who caught 40 receptions for 563 yards. Freshman Trevion Thompson, who caught 10 passes this season, may also see a larger role.
“Why would it be a distraction?” Swinney said. “Jay Jay McCullough and Lakip and Deon don’t have anything to do with [defensive end] Shaq Lawson and how he plays his game, doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of those guys. It’s not a distraction at all.”
