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Jessica Nelms

Clemson freshman defensive tackle Brandon Thompson goes through drills earlier this month at the practice fields behind the Jervey Athletic Center in Clemson.

CLEMSON — After news broke Monday morning that Clemson will be without defensive tackle Rashaad Jackson for at least half the season, the Tigers took another hit, literally, along the defensive front the same day, albeit with fewer negative repercussions.

Defensive tackle Brandon Thompson, the No. 39 prospect in the nation by ESPN.com coming out of high school, broke his hand punching fellow freshman Matt Sanders, who suffered a concussion from the hit.

Sanders’ helmet came off before Thompson landed the punch to the head, but despite the injuries, head coach Tommy Bowden isn’t planning disciplinary action against the freshmen, and offered up an alternative resolution for any future altercations.

“I’ve adjusted the fight policy. If the helmet comes off, instead of hitting them in the head, we’ve asked them to just choke them,” Bowden said, setting off a burst of laughter following practice on Tuesday afternoon in Clemson.

Ironically, Bowden had recently talked to his Tigers about not hitting each other in the head if a fight breaks out, especially when the helmets go rolling.

But with the competitive nature of August practice, Bowden wasn’t flying off the rails about the fight, saying that’s it just part of the game.

“Everybody has a different philosophy,” Bowden said. “Coming from a large family with brothers, we fought a lot, and these guys are family and sometimes you fight. It doesn’t bother me that much if they get in the fight.”

But of course, the Clemson coach let it be known he’d rather not see the incident repeated as the season opener against Alabama approaches.

“You just have to be smart about it,” he said. “One guy broke his hand and one guy has a concussion. There’s got to be a cleaner way to fight.”

Taylor returns. Wide receiver turned running back Rendrick Taylor returned to practice on Monday after an extended absence because of personal matters.

Taylor has been out since last Wednesday and was expected to return to the team on Monday.

Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret said Taylor would be made available for comment on Thursday.

Tight ends get pub. Bowden singled out his tight ends on Tuesday, saying that Michael Palmer, Akeem Robinson, Brian Linthicum. Durrell Barry, Matt Knowles and freshman Dwayne Allen have been impressive.

“Those guys have all done really, really good, and they kind of get out of sight and out of mind talking about all those other skills guys,” Bowden said.

The Clemson coach added that Allen is the fastest of the group and will almost certainly see playing time as a true freshman.