While other universities have some talented wide receivers on their lineups, we all know that when it comes to wide receiver schools, Clemson reigns supreme.In the last five years, only Clemson has been the only able to consistently put top talent into the NFL. Deandre “Nuk” Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Mike Williams were all drafted in the first round of their respective drafts and all figure to be starters on their teams. Artavis Scott, Charone Peake, Deon Cain, Ray-Ray McCloud, Martavis Bryant and Adam Humphries were all drafted later, but were picked up by teams nonetheless.
The Tigers run an up-tempo spread offense which routinely has three or more receivers on the field at any time. This allows for potential defensive mismatches when defenses have to cover two running backs that can catch or a tight end that can catch or block on the same play.
Wide receivers are the best skill position Clemson has, but don’t count out the Tigers’ running backs or tight ends. In 2016 running back Wayne Gallman set a Clemson record for rushing yards in a season in 2016, and tight end Jordan Leggett set Clemson records for most touchdowns and catches by a tight end. Both Gallman and Leggett now play in the NFL and have elevated the recruiting at Clemson for their positions in the past few years.
The wide receiver starting pool is pretty deep this year as highlighted by potential breakout candidates Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers. Higgins and Rodgers will take over the starting roles left by current Colts receiver Deon Cain and Bills receiver Ray-Ray McCloud. Hunter Renfrow will still play the slot, but he could be even more versatile in his senior year. Senior Trevion Thompson has also looked very good in practice and could share time with Higgins as an outside receiver to start the year.
The depth chart looks just as promising as the starters, reinforcing the notion that Clemson is one of the best wide receiving teams in the country. Juniors Cornell Powell and Diondre Overton will likely be first off the bench, with sophomores TJ Chase and Will Swinney and freshmen Justyn Ross and Derion Kendrick in line to see snaps as well. Ross has made a few incredible catches in summer camp and could even be a red zone target in the latter half of the season.
For the running backs, the tandem of Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster will once again provide the bulk of the carries. Even after tearing his ACL in 2014, Senior Adam Choice has been dependable as a third-down back and pass catcher and freshman Lyn-J Dixon could see some time but is more likely to be redshirted this season.
One thing that will benefit head coach Dabo Swinney is the new redshirt rule, which states that players can now play in four games per season and still be redshirted. For example, this means that Dixon could come off the bench if Feaster was injured late in the season and play, while still receiving a redshirt designation. Swinney and his coordinators pride themselves on rotating in young guys throughout the season giving them valuable experience and allowing the starters to rest.
The tight ends, while a smaller group than the wide receivers and running backs, may play a bigger role in the offense this year. Seniors Milan Richard and Garrett Williams were listed as co-starters in camp, and that has not changed. Both have seen a lot of snaps in practice and Williams has said that he thinks tight ends will have a larger part in this year’s offense. Senior Cannon Smith is also pushing for time, but it seems unlikely that Clemson will deploy too many three tight-end sets.
Overall, the Tigers will keep defenses on their toes trying to account for every single guy on the field. Higgins might be the Williams-esque pass catcher, but you can double cover him all of the time because guys like Richard, Choice and Rodgers could slip through the cracks. Forcing defensive coordinators to choose how many defenders to use in coverage versus blitzing and pressuring the quarterback is an advantage in itself.
“One is not enough and two is too many” will be the strategy the Clemson offense will use this year. Using only one cornerback to cover Higgins won’t be enough, but if you use two to cover him, Renfrow will be open. Etienne will destroy one opposing linebacker, but using two will leave Garrett Williams open. The strategy and skill behind Clemson’s wide receivers, runnings backs and tight ends ensure that Clemson will be a matchup nightmare this year.
