Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence will not be able to play next week against Notre Dame, coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday.
Lawrence was tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday and the school announced he tested positive on Thursday, meaning he must isolate for a minimum of 10 days per ACC medical advisory group protocols.
As part of the return-to-play protocols, Lawrence has to pass a series of cardiac exams, and Swinney said going through all the protocols would not allow him to be back in time for next Saturday.
With Lawrence out on Saturday, freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei went 30-of-41 for 342 yards with two touchdowns in Clemson’s 34-28 win over Boston College. He will get the start again against the Irish.
“He’s doing great,” Swinney said of Lawrence. “[He] Zoomed the team last night, [and I] talked to him this morning, feels like he can play today. He’s doing well, but obviously there’s protocol. He will be out in time to play [against Notre Dame], but you have the cardiac part of it.
“You have to ramp back up, even if he feels great, he could probably go play, he’s not allowed to do that simply because of the protocols. They’re put in place to make sure he could return to play safely. You have 10 days, and then you have the cardiac part, so he won’t be able to get through that in time to play next week.”
Swinney said if everything goes well, Lawrence should be able to return to practice after the Notre Dame game.
“Hopefully he’ll be able to travel with us and help those guys on the sideline,” Swinney said. “Definitely will not be able to play in the game, but he’ll have a whole week, D.J. and Taisun [Phommachanh], we’ll get them ready to go up there and build on this game here.”
Uiagalelei said he’ll approach preparations for Notre Dame the same way he got ready for Boston College.
“Same mindset as this week. I’ll start watching some film tomorrow of Notre Dame,” Uiagalelei said. “I don’t know too much about them other than they’re a really great team, so just trying to get my mind right, get on my keys and know the game plan inside and out. It was cool to start my first game in college today. It was sort of crazy waking up and thinking, ‘Hey I’m going to start today.’ But having a game under my belt going into Notre Dame is definitely going to help.”
ESPN’s David Hale contributed to this report.