Hunter Renfrow has been underrated and underestimated his whole career, doubted and written off since his days as a two-star recruit at Socastee High School to the time he walked on at Clemson, and even when he first entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick in 2019.
All the while, people have looked at the undersized Renfrow and formed opinions about what they thought he couldn’t do on the football field, which is defy the odds and ultimately become the highly productive, Pro Bowl receiver that he is now with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Renfrow isn’t incognizant, and he’s well aware that people often poke fun at or mock him on social media. But he doesn’t let that bother him. He knows how blessed and fortunate he is to be a professional football player, making a living out of the sport he’s passionate about.
“I’ve always prided myself on being different, whether it was not doing all the footwork stuff or looking different. I think different is good, to an extent. So, I do take pride in that,” Renfrow said recently in an interview with former Clemson running back Darien Rencher on The Players Club Podcast.
“I am very self-aware, like you said,” he added. “I see it all the time on Twitter and I understand people are laughing at me. Sometimes they’re laughing with me, sometimes they’re laughing at me. I understand that. But I’m just having fun playing the game I love, and I really don’t worry about it too much.”
Renfrow, who just wrapped up his third season with the Raiders that saw him get selected to the Pro Bowl, is living his dream. And plenty of the people who laugh at him, as he points out, probably wish they were in his position as an NFL player.
Haters are gonna hate, and Renfrow simply uses it as a degree of motivation. But more so, the haters just make him even more appreciative to be where he’s at and have the job he has playing football at the highest level.
“I’m getting to play in the NFL, and that’s something I dreamed of,” he said. “I’m being able to support my family, I’m being able to hang out with my friends in the offseason. Like, I have an unbelievable life. I have nothing to worry about. So, I’m just very appreciative and very thankful. So, when people laugh and make fun or what not, it doesn’t matter to me, because a lot of those people are wishing they could be playing in the NFL. So, I use it to fuel me to an extent. But at the same time, I think I use the fuel of appreciation more than anything. And whenever they do, it just reminds me of what I’m thankful for.”
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