It’s no secret that staying healthy will be the key for Clemson’s wide receivers in 2022.
Just ask Dabo Swinney.
So, that’s what we did.
At the Prowl and Growl event in Aiken on Thursday night, The Clemson Insider asked Clemson’s head coach if this wide receiver room — with a clean bill of health — has a chance to be one of his better ones during his time in Tiger Town.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Swinney replied. “Just write it down. Just take all these names that are on our roster right now and look up in about for years and you’ll be like, ‘Well, OK.’ There’s so many guys that if they stay healthy — I mean we all saw with Justyn (Ross) anything can happen. Now, he’s still there, but he’s gonna make it if he stays healthy…but the type of talent we got, there’s no question.
Once Dutch Fork High signee Antonio Williams and Vestavia Hills signee Cole Turner arrive this summer, Clemson will have 10 players on scholarship at the wide receiver position.
“These are very, very talented, very skilled players all at different stages of development and skillsets and all that stuff,” Swinney continued, “but as they go through these next three-to-five years, that’s gonna happen because they’re just super, super talented guys.”
Swinney went down the list of wide receivers that he thinks are gonna have the opportunity to play for a while.
“The reason I can say that is because for 19 years I’ve coached receivers and I know what it looks like,” he said. “I love our group. Certainly, last year was just insanity. You look at a guy like E.J. Williams, who had an excellent freshman year and then last year, he breaks his thumb, he hurts his knee, it was just a tough year. He’s just as talented as the guys we’ve signed, but staying healthy is going to be a big part of it.
“You look at a guy like Adam Randall showing up here. He’s a physically ready guy. You look at Antonio coming in here. I can’t wait to get my hands on him, same thing with Cole. Cole’s one of those guys that will probably be a five-year guy and at the end of the day, everybody’s gonna be going ‘Holy cow, what a player this kid’s turned out to be.’
“So, they’re all just at different stages. (Joseph) Ngata is a pro, if he can just stay available, that’s unquestionable for me. (Brannon) Spector, Will Taylor, Beaux Collins, Dacari (Collins) — it’s just a really deep group, a talented group and they’re gonna do great.”
Swinney indicated that Clemson will have a lot more receivers at its disposal this season if the Tigers can just get them to game day.
The injuries that Clemson suffered at the receiver position last season are well-documented. While the Tigers are deep in Tyler Grisham’s room, they’d likely rather use their receiver depth this season because they can, not because they have to.
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