Clemson well-stocked at wideout
Another talented batch ready to join long line of elite receivers
It’s safe to assume that it’s not mere coincidence that the Clemson football team’s six consecutive seasons with 10 or more victories has coincided with a steady procession of talented wide receivers unprecedented in program history.
When coach Dabo Swinney adopted a fast-paced spread offense several years ago, highly recruited pass catchers wanted to be part of the new approach.
Swinney was able to sign several top-flight receivers, beginning with DeAndre Hopkins in 2010, and the receivers who have followed in his footsteps — some highly regarded surefire stars, others not so much — have helped elevate Clemson to the lofty status of Wide Receiver U.
The numbers are hard to dismiss: Clemson has sent eight receivers to the NFL in the last five years, and all remain on NFL rosters.
With this year’s team featuring budding stars in Deon Cain and Hunter Renfrow, joined by a couple of high-profile freshmen in Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers, that trend is showing no signs of slowing.
“I think all nine of the scholarship guys we have (at wide receiver) will have a chance one day to play at the next level, I really do,” Swinney said. “They’re a ways from that, other than a couple who are a little closer than the others, but they all have that type of ceiling and potential.”
Consider Renfrow as a prime example. A former walk-on who looks more like a professorial understudy than a gridiron star, Renfrow has emerged as a postseason hero each of the last two seasons with four touchdown receptions in two title-game matchups against Alabama.
He also gathered in the short toss from Deshaun Watson that gave the Tigers a 35-31 victory in the title game last January, delivering Clemson its first national title since 1981 and elevating Renfrow from relative unknown to Sports Illustrated cover boy.
Then there’s the story of Jaron Brown, who graduated in 2013 as a little-known receiver for the Tigers. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent and is entering his fifth season with the team.
“I don’t think we appreciated Jaron as much when he was here as we do now,” says Clemson wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott. “The issue was he had Sammy (Watkins) on one side and DeAndre Hopkins on the other, and that kind of overshadowed him. Now here he is playing in the NFL for five years.”
The key, Scott says, was that Brown never got discouraged despite never being “the guy.”
“One thing we believe in is playing a lot of guys,” Scott said. “Our guys know that, so that’s why they don’t get discouraged if they’re not the starter. They know as long as they work hard and earn the opportunity to play, they’re going to have a chance to play 30 or 40 snaps each game.”
At the other end of the spectrum was Watkins, who was unleashed from the outset.
“I thought he might be starting around Week 3 or Week 4,” Scott said. “Then after the first day of practice we all got in the coaches locker room and said, ‘Holy cow. He may be the best player on the field.’ He was a starter on Day 2 of practice.”
With Cain, who has 14 touchdown catches on 72 career receptions over two seasons, Renfrow and Ray-Ray McCloud back for junior seasons, the Tigers might not have another instant starter this season, but there’s little doubt that Higgins and Rodgers are the next stars in line.
Higgins resembles Mike Williams, the former first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference player who was the No. 7 overall pick by the San Diego Chargers last April.
“He’s got great body control; he’s physical,” Swinney said. “I’m encouraged by his toughness. He’s got the mentality. When the ball’s in the air, he wants to go get it. He has zero fear.
“He obviously has great ball skills. It’s hard to overthrow him. You think you’ve overthrown him, but he’s right there and he’s got his hands on the ball. Then he’s very coachable, too. He wants to be coached. He has no entitlement to him.”
Scott calls Rodgers, who resembles former star Artavis Scott, “one of the most mature freshmen I’ve had in eight years at Clemson.”
Given that, along with the continued development of highly regarded sophomores Diondre Overton and Cornell Powell, the Tigers’ stock of receivers is in no danger of drying up anytime soon.
Scott says it boils down to identifying and recruiting players who fit Clemson’s culture.
“Really good DNA, that’s what it is,” Scott said, laughing. “Seriously, if you can get a talented guy who’s willing to work, that’s how you end up with an elite player. We want to bring in guys that will buy into the work ethic, be humble and be hungry. A lot of times at the wide receiver position you see guys that are talented but maybe don’t push themselves as hard and work on the details. And that’s something our guys have always taken pride in — the details.
“The details were important to Sammy Watkins, and he went from being a really good wideout to a great wideout. The younger guys see that, and it kind of becomes the culture of your room.”
And earns your school a reputation as Wide Receiver U.