Dabo Swinney: Dexter Lawrence May Have Mistakenly Received PEDs from Clemson

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday that the banned substances that caused the suspensions of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, tight end Braden Galloway and offensive lineman Zach Giella could have been accidentally provided by the school.

According to Grace Raynor and Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier, Swinney didn't rule out the possibility of a mistake on Clemson's end:

"Oh yeah, I mean, there's a chance that it could come from anything. They're going to test everything and look at everything. And that's the problem. As you really look at this stuff, it could be a contaminant that came from anything, that was something that was cleared and not a problem, and all of a sudden, it becomes there was something."

Lawrence, Galloway and Giella were suspended and not eligible to play during the College Football Playoff last season after testing positive for ostarine.

The three players tested have been suspended for the 2019 season pending appeal, although Lawrence will avoid the punishment after declaring for the 2019 NFL draft.

Lawrence was highly productive in his three seasons at Clemson.

He registered 62 tackles and 6.5 sacks as a freshman in 2016, 33 tackles and 2.0 sacks in 2017 and then 36 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2018.

Despite playing without Lawrence, the Tigers beat Notre Dame in the CFP semifinal and then blew out Alabama 44-16 in the CFP National Championship.

In his latest 2019 NFL mock draft, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected that the Los Angeles Chargers will select Lawrence with the No. 60 overall pick in the second round of the draft.

Swinney will be forced to completely reshape his defensive line in 2019, as Lawrence, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant, Christian Wilkins and Albert Huggins all entered the NFL draft.