CLEMSON TACKLE READY FOR TASK

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

Jackson Carman had a few good options when deciding where to play college football, including Ohio State.

Unlike many highly rated recruits from Ohio, the offensive lineman decided to leave the Buckeye State.

Now Carman’s the starting left tackle for Clemson and will have arguably the toughest assignment on the field on Saturday in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The 6-foot-5, 345pound sophomore has to block Ohio State’s Chase Young, a Heisman finalist who has 161⁄2 sacks this season.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney called the matchup “must-see TV” on Thursday at Fiesta Bowl media day.

“Our strength is our offensive line; their strength is their defensive line,” Swinney said. “And everybody gets kind of enamored with the quarterbacks and the wideouts and those defensive backs and all that stuff and these great backs, but that will be quite a battle right there to watch all night long.”

Carman is from Fairfield, Ohio, just outside Cincinnati. He was recruited by Ohio State and met Young a few times, though they never became close. The biggest reason is obvious: Carman felt more at home with the

Fiesta Bowl

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson Saturday: 5 p.m., State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Line: Clemson by 11 ⁄2

On the air: ESPN; 600-AM

Tigers, and it’s hard to argue he made a bad decision.

Clemson has won 28 straight games since he arrived on campus and he’s been a big part of its success. He moved into a starting role at left tackle this season.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence said he has complete trust in Carman’s ability to block one of the college game’s elite players.

“Me and Jackson have been really close since we got here,” Lawrence said. “We came in together. Along with everyone up front, I really trust him. This offseason, fall camp, how we’ve jelled and ironed out the rough things. I feel like we’re playing our best right now and especially Jackson, he’s going a really good job.”

Carman said he’s not surprised his college career will intersect with the Buckeyes.

“I definitely thought it was a possibility,” Carman said. “They’re both really good programs and title contenders every year.”

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound

Young is expected to be one of the top picks in the NFL Draft in April. He’s had some huge games over the last two months, including four sacks against Wisconsin and three more against Penn State.

“Every week he’s doing something crazy — having four sacks or something like that,” Carman said.

He added: “Usually people who are athletic specimens like him aren’t necessarily the most refined with their technique because they can rely on being better than everyone else physically. But he’s really done a great job with his technique and his coaching.”

Young wasn’t quite as productive in his past two games against Michigan and in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin. But that’s because the Wolverines and Badgers often used double-teams — or sometimes even tripleteams — to try and limit his impact.

Young said he’s fine with that, especially because it left other Buckeyes free to make plays and they still won both games.

As for Carman, Young called him a “good young player” but said he was more worried about the entire Clemson offense than an individual lineman.

“They’re all pretty good, man,” Young said. “They’re all guys who can go. So it’s our job to just do our job and do it the best we can.”

Fields update

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was not giving any more updates on his knee. On Tuesday, Fields had said he was about 80 to 85 percent.

There were a few followup questions Thursday, but the sophomore politely shut those down. He did say, somewhat tentatively, that he planned to wear a brace on his left knee in Saturday’s game.