He came off the line, gave Chandler Jones a shimmy to the outside and then darted back inside toward the end zone, leaving Louisville’s cornerback in the dust.
After hauling in D.J. Uiagalelei’s 46-yard touchdown toss in the first quarter against the Cardinals last week — a rare explosive play for the Tigers this season — Beaux Collins repeatedly pointed to his wrist in celebration.
“It was Beaux time,” Clemson’s freshman receiver explained. “I kind of picked up that phrase the past couple of weeks. Guys around the facility have been saying it, and it just felt like it was my time to shine.”
Collins is about to be on the clock more than he’s been at any point this season.
A four-star recruit and high school teammate of Uiagalelei’s at St. John Bosco in California, Collins said Clemson’s coaches told him he had a chance to have a “pretty good role” in the offense during his first season with the Tigers. But being a starter isn’t exactly what Collins envisioned.
“I would say the opportunity is bigger than I thought it would be,” he said.
Circumstances outside of Collins’ control have played a part in him finding himself at the top of the depth chart as Clemson hits the home stretch of its season. Joseph Ngata, the Tigers’ second-leading receiver, sustained a foot injury late in Clemson’s win over Louisville last week and won’t be available to play against UConn on Saturday, adding to the attrition at the position. Fellow receivers Frank Ladson (groin) and Brannon Spector (COVID-19 complications) have missed most or all of the season.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said the earliest Ngata would likely be able to return is the Tigers’ regular-season finale at South Carolina on Nov. 27. With Ngata out, that leaves Justyn Ross, E.J. Williams and Collins as the Tigers’ top three receivers, Swinney said.
Ngata has played exclusively on the outside while Ross and Williams have gone back and forth between the outside and the slot. But Ngata’s absence means Ross and Williams will fill in at the outside receiver positions with Collins sliding in as the starter in the slot, a position usually reserved for smaller, twitchier receivers in the mold of Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers, who’ve manned that spot for the Tigers in recent years.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Collins possesses a body type more prototypical of an outside receiver. But as he showed by turning Jones around and creating easy separation on what Collins called a “home-run post,” the precision in his route-running will play wherever he lines up.
“I was really excited about being able to run that route. That’s one of my favorites,” he said. “We got Ross coming in and motioning, and then we had an off corner, so it was wide open for me just being able to see that route develop while running it and then just D.J. putting it on the money.
It’s something Uiagalelei has seen in Collins going back to their prep days together.
“He’s real fundamental with all of his route-running,” Uiagalalei said. “He’d run really good routes. That’s the main thing. And then he had really strong hands.”
Collins put it all together against Louisville for his best game in a Clemson uniform to this point. He caught five more passes to finish with season-highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (104). His touchdown grab was the Tigers’ second-longest pass play of the season.
Collins has been with the program since January after enrolling early and going through spring practice, so he said he feels like all of his preparation since then has also helped put him in the position he finds himself now. Repping in the slot isn’t completely new to him since the Tigers had been cross-training him there just in case.
In fact, it’s a spot where Collins said he’s been wanting to line up more in order to try to create as many advantageous matchups as possible against opposing defenses.
“I’ve been really wanting to play that position since high school,” Collins said. “Just getting in there and having mismatches against linebackers and safeties and things like that. Being able to come here and learn that position, it’s really a good position.”
He’ll have even more chances to do that now.
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