Texas
Here’s Clemson football, Dabo Swinney’s depth chart for first-round CFP game vs Texas
CLEMSON — Clemson football released its depth chart Monday ahead of its first-round CFP game vs. Texas.
The most notable changes involve the removal of key players who are injured or entered the transfer portal. Backup running back Jay Haynes was removed after suffering a leg injury in the ACC championship against SMU on Dec. 7. Running backs Keith Adams Jr., Jarvis Green and David Eziomume are listed as the No. 2 running back behind Phil Mafah.
Wide receiver Adam Randall also replaced Haynes as the starting kick returner. Clemson’s depth chart removed nickelback Sherrod Covil Jr. and wide receiver Noble Johnson too. Both were backups who entered the transfer portal.
The No. 12 seed Tigers (10-3) will face the No. 5 seed Longhorns (11-2) on Dec. 21 (4 p.m. ET, TNT) in Austin, Texas, at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. The winner advances to play No. 4 seed Arizona State, the Big 12 champion, in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Here’s Clemson’s full depth chart before it faces Texas on Saturday:
Clemson football’s offense
QB: Cade Klubnik | Christopher Vizzina
RB: Phil Mafah | Keith Adams Jr. or Jarvis Green or David Eziomume
WR: Antonio Williams | Tyler Brown | Misun Kelley
WR: T.J. Moore | Cole Turner
WR: Bryant Wesco Jr. or Adam Randall | Cole Turner | Hampton Earle
TE: Jake Briningstool | Olsen Patt-Henry | Josh Sapp | Markus Dixon
LT: Tristan Leigh | Mason Wade
LG: Marcus Tate | Harris Sewell
C: Ryan Linthicum | Harris Sewell
RG: Walker Parks | Harris Sewell
RT: Blake Miller | Mason Wade
Clemson football’s defense
DE: Jahiem Lawson | A.J. Hoffler
DT: Payton Page | DeMonte Capehart | Vic Burley
DT: Peter Woods | Tré Williams | Stephiylan Green
DE: T.J. Parker | Cade Denhoff
SLB: Wade Woodaz | Jamal Anderson
MLB: Wade Woodaz | Sammy Brown or Dee Crayton
WLB: Barrett Carter | Sammy Brown or Dee Crayton
CB: Avieon Terrell | Ashton Hampton | Corian Gipson
SS: Kylon Griffin or Tyler Venables | Ricardo Jones
FS: R.J. Mickens | Tyler Venables | Rob Billings
NB: Khalil Barnes | Shelton Lewis
CB: Jeadyn Lukus or Ashton Hampton | Branden Strozier
Clemson football’s special teams
PK: Nolan Hauser | Robert Gunn III
P: Aidan Swanson | Jack Smith
KO: Robert Gunn III
LS (PK): Holden Caspersen
LS (P): Philip Florenzo
H: Clay Swinney
KR: Adam Randall
PR: Antonio Williams
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
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A Texas state trooper was killed in a crash in the Panhandle, becoming the 244th Texas Department of Public Safety officer to die in the line of duty since 1823, according to the agency.
Sergio Romero, 27, died Wednesday after a semi-truck pulled in front of him as he attempted a traffic stop around 4 p.m. on U.S. 287 in Childress County, DPS said.
In a statement, Col. Freeman F. Martin praised Romero’s courage, integrity, and service.
“Today, we grieve the loss of one of our own,” Martin said. “… Our hearts break alongside his family, friends, fellow troopers, and all who loved him. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made in service of his fellow Texans.”
Romero previously served with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office before joining DPS as part of Class B-2025 in Childress, the agency said.
He is survived by his wife, Francisca, and their two young sons.
Funeral arrangements are pending. The crash remains under investigation.
Flash flood warning in Texas as streets fill with water
Flash flood warnings are active as heavy rain swamps roads across central Texas and rising waters pose danger to drivers.
Texas is keeping more than half of its counties under a state of emergency.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott renewed three statewide disaster declarations on Tuesday, June 16 — covering flooding, drought and border security — which together place 164 of the state’s 254 counties under emergency authority.
Each of the orders, signed by Abbott and filed with Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, authorizes the use of “all available resources of state government and of political subdivisions that are reasonably necessary to cope with this disaster.”
Here’s a look at what the proclamations are for and which counties are under them.
Flood disaster from deadly 2025 Hill Country storms holds across 30 counties
On July 4, 2025, Abbott issued a disaster declaration following heavy rainfall and flooding that caused widespread and severe property damage, injury and loss of life in several counties.
The Camp Mystic flooding, which killed 27 campers and counselors, also occurred during this time frame. The original declaration included 21 counties located in the Texas Hill Country and the Concho Valley in the central part of the state.The disaster order has been renewed over the past year, expanding to include 30 counties in the June 2026 renewal and does the following:
- Suspends all laws that prevent the transfer of bodies to families as soon as possible.
- Suspends all laws regarding state agencies’ contracting or procurement rules that would impede its emergency response necessary to protect life or property threatened by the declared disaster.
- Temporarily suspended — with written approval from the governor’s office — laws that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action to respond to the disaster.
Drought disaster covers 111 Texas counties as wildfire risk persists
Abbott amended and renewed a drought disaster order originally issued on July 8, 2022, and it has been renewed several times over the past four years.
When it was originally signed, the order impacted 158 counties across the entire state, from the Texas Panhandle to the Permian Basin to the Texas Hill Country.
The original order states that the persistent drought conditions in the state have increased the wildfire threat in the region. The June 2026 renewal order states that the Texas Division of Emergency Management has confirmed that those same drought conditions persist; however, only 111 counties are listed in the renewed order.
The order does the following:
- Suspends all laws regarding state agencies’ contracting or procurement rules that would impede its emergency response necessary to protect life or property threatened by the declared disaster.
- Temporarily suspends — with written approval from the governor’s office — laws that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action to respond to the disaster.
Border security disaster spans 70 counties in fifth-year renewal
The original order was issued in May 2021 in response to a “surge of individuals unlawfully crossing the Texas-Mexico border posed an ongoing and imminent threat of disaster for a number of Texas counties.”
The original 2021 order affected 34 counties along the Texas border from El Paso to Brownsville, with Abbott saying it was in response to former President Joe Biden’s open-border policy.
“President Biden’s open-border policies have paved the way for dangerous gangs and cartels, human traffickers, and deadly drugs like fentanyl to pour into our communities,” Abbott said in a June 2021 statement. “Meanwhile, landowners along the border are seeing their property damaged and vandalized on a daily basis while the Biden Administration does nothing to protect them.
The order has been renewed and amended several times over the past five years, with the June 2026 order impacting 70 counties from El Paso through the Hill Country and the lower Rio Grande Valley.
The renewed order declares a state of disaster for those counties and for all state agencies impacted by the prescribed disaster.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
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