While there’s plenty of young talent on Clemson’s offensive line this season, the oldest player in the trenches could return for a sixth year in 2027.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, head coach Dabo Swinney announced that fifth-year offensive lineman Collin Sadler is eligible for a medical redshirt next season due to injuries sustained in 2024 that limited him to just 95 snaps over two games.

“He’s got a medical, so he actually has a sixth year,” the veteran coach said. “So, he’ll be a guy that he’ll have to decide if he wants to do it. So, we’ll see.”

Swinney then went on to explain that Sadler’s situation falls under the old rules and regulations of College Football, since players like him were grandfathered in. Under that system, a player who redshirted and then lost another season to injury could qualify for a medical waiver. 

Now that redshirting no longer exists, the standard is essentially five years of eligibility in a five-year window, with exceptions only for unusual circumstances, such as the chemotherapy that Tigers defensive tackle Hevin Brown-Shuler underwent over the past few months.

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound lineman entered Clemson as a four-star recruit in the 2022 class alongside multiple other current Tigers such as Jahiem Lawson, Caden Story, Trent Pearman and Kylon Griffin, among others.

As a true freshman, Sadler played just 23 offensive snaps across three games while redshirting. 

His workload jumped significantly as a sophomore, when he split time as the co-starting left guard and backup left tackle, logging 565 snaps across 13 games (five starts). Consistency was an issue, though, as he allowed 20 pressures and two sacks on the season.

As mentioned earlier, Sadler’s 2024 season was then cut short by injuries. 

After suffering a calf injury against Appalachian State in Week 2, he didn’t return to action. He was active for the Week 6 Florida State and Week 8 Virginia contests but did not play, then sat out the next two weeks before Swinney ruled him out for the year following a major back surgery.

Sadler was able to bounce back health-wise last season, starting nine of ten contests while playing nearly 600 offensive snaps. However, he still struggled at both left and right guard throughout the year, allowing a career-high 25 pressures and two sacks.

Entering this season, Sadler moved from guard to tackle to fill the void left by first-round draft pick Blake Miller, who had started at right tackle for the Tigers for the past four years. 

He missed the season-opener at LSU due to a minor injury, but has started in every game since. Up to this point, he’s arguably had his worst year so far, allowing 22 pressures and a career-low four sacks across 557 offensive snaps at his new position.

Sadler and the Tigers return to Death Valley this weekend in hopes of getting revenge on Georgia Tech, which upset Clemson in Atlanta last season. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on The CW Network.