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Clemson Tigers star Dexter Lawrence will miss the 2018 Cotton Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after his B sample came back positive for a banned substance, The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna reported.
Fortuna shared a statement from Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich confirmed Lawrence, Zach Giella and Braden Galloway will miss Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal:
Matt Fortuna @Matt_Fortuna
Update, with a statement from Clemson AD Dan Radakovich: https://t.co/LUnFeWKYmm
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced Dec. 24 that Lawrence, Giella and Galloway had tested positive for a “sliver” of ostarine.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency describes ostarine as a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) on its official site.
“While they are not yet approved for human use, SARMs are of interest to the medical community because they might be effective at treating different health conditions without resulting in the negative side effects of steroids,” USADA wrote.
USADA also noted ostarine isn’t an ingredient in any legal medication or dietary supplement.
In 13 games as a junior, Lawrence has 44 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller ranked Lawrence as the 20th-best player overall and the sixth-best defensive lineman in his most recent big board.
For almost any other team, losing Lawrence ahead of such a big game would be a crippling blow. Clemson, on the other hand, can still rely on Clelin Ferrell off the edge and Christian Wilkins inside. Wilkins was a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, while Ferrell has 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss.
According to Football Outsiders, Clemson finished the regular season sixth in sack rate, getting to the quarterback on 9.9 percent of its opponents’ pass attempts that didn’t come in garbage time. While Lawrence’s absence won’t make things easier for the Tigers, they should still be able to harass Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book in the pocket with some regularity.
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