Jason Priester All Clemson
Clemson WRs 'Hungry' to Live Up to Standard of WRU
When it comes to wide receiver play at Clemson, the bar has been set extremely high.
There is a standard in place, put forth by some of the past greats that include DeAndre 'Nuk' Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Mike Williams and Hunter Renfrow, just to name a few. That standard has earned the program the moniker of 'Wide Receiver U,' as Clemson has consistently pumped one receiver after another into the NFL.
Many feel that standard was not met in 2021, as the wide receiver room was ravaged by injury and plagued with inconsistency. Joseph Ngata, E.J. Williams, Brannon Spector, Will Taylor and Troy Stellato all missed significant time.
However, that was last year. As the Tigers get set to open fall camp, the group is as healthy as it's been in quite some time, outside of freshman Adam Randall, who is out recovering from a torn ACL, and wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham is determined to see his receivers live up to that standard this season.
"I'm hungry. Our guys are hungry to show what we're about and to live up to that standard at Clemson and what we've done all those years,” Grisham said. "You'll see it this year, there's no doubt in my mind."
Last season was a struggle for all involved regarding the wide receiver room and having a head coach in Dabo Swinney, who was once a wide receivers coach himself, has been extremely helpful for Grisham and his group as they look for a bounce-back season.
“Yeah, it’s good to have him around," Grisham said. "We had some one-on-one conversations. After the season, he was even talking to my wife and encouraging her. Like if Tyler can live through that, he can live through anything."
For many of the Clemson receivers, it's never been a question of talent, but availability, and no one has struggled with injuries more than Ngata. Although, the senior is now in arguably the best shape of his career, and appears to be on the right track, both physically and mentally, to have a successful season.
"(Ngata) had a phenomenal winter, and he maintained that through the entire spring,” Grisham said. “I'm hearing great things about him this summer, especially leadership and his ability to show up day in and day out and compete and do so at 100 percent, full speed."
Another player the Tigers need healthy is E.J. Williams. After dealing with multiple injuries a season ago, the junior is expected to secure one of the starting spots in 2022.
"E.J. is a starter for us," Grisham said. "We anticipate him being able to help us as a starter. His mindset needs to be that he's got to help us win games."
However, there were some bright spots a season ago, including the play of Beaux Collins. Grisham is confident that the sophomore will take that next step in his development, in turn allowing the coaches to use him in a variety of ways.
"I think just dominance," Grisham said of what's next for Collins. "Being a guy that we can put to the field, to the boundary, and if we need him in the slot, we can put him there. He's going to play everywhere."
"I think for him retaining all that information, but also being a no-doubt, one-on-one guy. Like I see one-on-one, I'm giving him a shot more times than not. Same thing with Ngata. We need guys that will go win those 50-50s. I think sheer dominance is needed out there this season."
Antonio Williams has also been on the receiving end of some high praise since arriving on campus this summer. Despite not being an early enrollee, Williams has been turning heads and could be capable of making an impact during his first year in the program.
"Guys are raving about him, both on offense and defense," Grisham said. "When you have your defensive guys talking about a receiver, they don't want to give a receiver much praise, those DBs, so whenever you can get that, especially about a freshman, that's pretty awesome. He knew there was a need for someone like him in our offense after losing Amari a couple of seasons ago. He's done exceptionally well from what I've heard this summer."
The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022.
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