Clemson DE Shaq Lawson says injury won't keep him out of title game

By foxsports
Published

No. 1 Clemson beat No. 4 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinals Thursday, 37-17, and the Tigers did so largely without star defensive end Shaq Lawson.

Lawson, the 2015 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, sustained a knee injury in the first quarter and watched the rest of the game from the bench.

However, Lawson said the injury won't prevent him from playing in the national title game on January 11 in Glendale, Arizona.

I'm going to be ready to play in the national championship," Lawson said. "I'm going to be back."

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound junior led the FBS in tackles for loss with 23.5 and racked up 10.5 sacks this season. 

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said the initial diagnosis was a sprained medial collateral ligament, and that it kept Lawson from pushing off effectively. Swinney said he did not believe the injury was a cause for major concern.

"He tried to go back in," Swinney said.

Lawson said he'll get "as much treatment as I need" to be ready for the Alabama game.

"I could tell it's nothing serious," Lawson said. "It's not serious."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.