Clemson WR-Turned-Safety Emerging as Dark Horse for Starting Spot

The Clemson Tigers safety could ultimately earn starting job after switching sides of the ball from wide receiver

The hard work over the offseason is paying off for the now-Clemson safety | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just over a year ago, Ronan Hanafin was studying the secondary to figure out how to beat them. Now, he’s studying the quarterback and offensive tendencies to figure out how to stop them. 

The position switch from wideout to safety has been anything but easy, but after a full offseason of adjustments, Hanafin is ready to make his mark on the other side of the ball.

However, this versatility isn’t new for Hanafin, as he came to the Clemson Tigers rated as a four-star athlete who played receiver and multiple positions on defense for Buckingham Browne & Nichols School.

He received multiple offers from Power-4 schools to play linebacker or safety, including Alabama, but ended up wanting to stick with the offensive side of the ball and see how things turned out. 

Unfortunately, Hanafin wouldn’t get too many reps on offense, but still never lost his sense of hitting or defensive awareness, making plays when he got the opportunity on special teams.

As his sophomore season approached, there had to be some decisions made in terms of where he’d play on the field.

“It was after one of the Jervey practices [last year], Coach Swinney came over to me, we were kind of talking about [the change], he was talking to my dad,” Hanafin told the media. “They were low on some guys at that point and you know I played safety in high school, so I was obviously open to that and however I could get on the field fastest. I made the switch right before the Georgia game and I didn’t look back.”

In the 2024 season, he played in all 14 games and took a leap in snaps, yet he still needed time to learn the system and become comfortable, which he seems to be after a long offseason of prepping.

“Right now, just having that full offseason helped so much,” Hanafin said. “Just being able to see everything on the field, having a couple reps last year and then all of [the offseason], having those reps helped so much.”

“It’s definitely hard at first in that process… to have to transition there and to do it relatively quickly has been really impressive,” Tyler Venables explained. “He’s an athlete, he’s tough, he’s fast, he’s physical. He really did everything he could on special teams to show guys that he can play winning football defensively… he’s excelled in this defense thus far.”

Despite being thrown into the fire late last year, Hanafin used those 14 games as a crash course. Now, with a full offseason to shake off the rust and reignite his confidence, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound athlete is no longer just a converted wideout learning on the fly – he’s competing for a starting spot.

Swinney said it’s “realistic” for Hanafin to be in the mix as a starter on defense, noting that they’re going to need him.

Clemson’s safety room has plenty of competition with veteran Tyler Venables setting the standard and promising talents in Ricardo Jones and Kylon Griffin pushing for more snaps day by day. Hanafin’s growth gives the Tigers another option, and his versatility could make him hard to keep off the field in 2025.