Dabo Swinney has acknowledged D.J. Uiagalalei needs to play better if Clemson is going to get back to being a championship contender this fall. Clemson’s coach has also been steadfast in his refusal to put all of the blame on the Tigers’ quarterback for last season’s offensive shortcomings.
Swinney has repeatedly made the point that Clemson, which dealt with ineffectiveness and attrition at seemingly every position a season ago, has to be better around Uiagalelei if the offense plans on rejuvenating itself once the games start Labor Day night against Georgia Tech. One of the spots that’s in need of resuscitation is slot receiver.
Remember that position?
It was made famous recently during Swinney’s tenure by Hunter Renfrow, the hero of Clemson’s 2017 national championship game victory who recently inked a lucrative contract extension with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. After Renfrow came Amari Rodgers, a first-team all-ACC selection and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist during his last season manning the slot for the Tigers in 2020.
Neither taller than 5-foot-10, Renfrow and Rodgers possessed ideal skill sets for the position, which is in contrast to those of the typical outside receiver. Let current Clemson receiver Brannon Spector further explain.
“I’d say just short-area quickness,” said Spector, who plays in the slot. “You’ve got to be able to get in and out of breaks. And then being able to have that burner speed, that helps out a lot as well. But just being tough and being able to step up and make a block on an inside ‘backer. You’ve got to get in there, hold your stance and just be strong. So it’s a little bit of everything.”
Clemson didn’t have that kind of all-in-one presence at the position a season ago.
Justyn Ross lined up there some, but the 6-4 wideout spent most of his collegiate career at his more natural outside position. E.J. Williams (knee) and Will Taylor (ACL surgery) got the occasional rep at the position, but both missed a good chunk of the season with injuries, which became a theme among the receiving corps. By the time it was over, Beaux Collins, a 6-3 true freshman who’d also been recruited primarily as an outside receiver, was filling in there.
But with less than two weeks left before the start of the new season, things seem to be trending back to normal for the Tigers at the position.
Spector would’ve been a prime slot candidate a year ago had it not been for a shoulder injury and complications from COVID-19 that ended his season before it began. The 6-1, 205-pound junior returned to the team this spring and reminded receivers coach Tyler Grisham of Renfrow with the speed and quickness he displayed then, which carried over to preseason camp.
“Before he got hurt, he was flying around everywhere,” Grisham said during the spring. “He’s got springs in his legs. He can run, change direction and get open in those short areas, which is what we want in the slot.”
Spector took a majority of the first-team reps in the slot during camp, but he’s not the only speedy, shifty option for the Tigers at the position. Taylor and Williams are back in the mix, and true freshmen Antonio Williams and Cole Turner joined the competition during camp. Williams, who’s also a candidate to return kicks, is more likely to contribute in Year 1 than Turner, and Spector said he’s been impressed by what he’s seen from the former Dutch Fork High standout in a short time at the position.
“I have no worries if one of us was to go down that they could step up,” Spector said of the freshmen. “I have full faith in them coming in and doing just as good as any of us.”
For the first time since the 2020 season, Clemson appears to have multiple options that more aptly fit the slot profile, which could lend itself to more creativity and production on the outside. Ross (46) was the only Clemson receiver to have more than 31 receptions last season.
“Any time you have a guy in the slot that can make guys miss, it does nothing but make you better,” first-year offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “That’s a big part of our offense. Get the ball to them in space, and let’s see what they can do with it.”
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