Tag: Ronan Hanafin

Dabo Swinney believes in the ‘rare guy’ Ronan Hanafin after move to defense

Swinney sees a ‘rare guy’ in Hanafin.

Clemson football’s Ronan Hanafin recently made a significant position change, moving from receiver to defensive back in August. Head coach Dabo Swinney elaborated on the transition, highlighting Hanafin’s natural talent on defense and his promising future with the Tigers. The switch came late in fall camp, giving Hanafin limited time to adapt. However, Swinney is confident that they’ve found the right fit for him.

“He had like a week of camp when we made the move,” Swinney explained on his radio show. Despite the limited preparation, Hanafin has shown an impressive ability to adapt. “This kid plays at a different gear than everybody else on the field. He’s just one of those rare guys, and I felt like that’s what I would see when we moved him. He’s just very natural.”

Hanafin came to Clemson as a four-star recruit, known for his versatility at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Massachusetts. Initially a cornerback, he also played receiver and linebacker/safety during his high school career, even contributing as a punt returner. In his first season with Clemson, Hanafin appeared in 11 games, playing 41 offensive snaps and making a significant impact on special teams.

This season, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore quickly made his presence felt on defense. After a special teams tackle against Georgia, he recorded four tackles in his defensive debut against Appalachian State. Swinney is excited about Hanafin’s potential, describing him as a player who “throws his body around” and “absolutely just can fly.”

Swinney noted, “He’s very physical. He’s big, he’s strong. He’s about 215 pounds.” The coaching staff is currently teaching Hanafin the nickel position while also introducing him to some safety duties. “He’s a guy that we think is really going to grow into a heck of a player for us. He’s just a sophomore, so he’s got it all in front of him.”

While there’s still development ahead, Swinney is optimistic about what Hanafin can bring to the team in the future. “We’re trying to bring him along as much as we can,” Swinney said. “Just excited about what I think he can become for us.”

Dabo Swinney announces a position change from a Clemson wide receiver to defense

A Clemson wide receiver has made the move to defense.

Ronan Hanafin has officially transitioned to linebacker for Clemson, a move that head coach Dabo Swinney confirmed during his Tuesday press conference. Originally recruited as both a receiver and linebacker, Hanafin’s shift to defense comes after spending the past year as a wide receiver.

“We moved him to defense about three weeks ago,” Swinney said. “We really are excited about Ronan, and that is how we recruited him. A lot of people offered him as a defensive player. Alabama offered him as a defensive player. Some people offered him as a receiver.”

Swinney explained that while Clemson admired Hanafin’s high school film as a linebacker, the coaching staff allowed him to start as a receiver because it was his preferred position. However, after evaluating his performance over the past year, they felt his skills were better suited for defense. “I told his family up front when we evaluated him as a defensive player; he was a no-brainer,” Swinney noted. “It was harder for me to evaluate him as a receiver…the one thing I believe in is you let a kid play what he wants to play.”

Despite his limited experience as a linebacker, Swinney praised Hanafin as “one of the best pure football players on this team” and someone with a natural aptitude for defense. However, the late transition has left Hanafin a bit behind in his understanding of the defensive schemes. “The unfortunate thing for him right now is we just moved him in camp. So he is certainly behind a little bit,” Swinney said. For now, Hanafin will continue to contribute to special teams where he has already made an impact.

As the season progresses, Hanafin is expected to develop into a key defensive player, reflecting the potential Clemson saw in him during recruitment.

Swinney and the Tigers will not redshirt this true freshman wide receiver as planned

Clemson will not be redshirting this freshman wide receiver as initially planned.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are making a change to their plans.

During his radio call-in show Monday night, Swinney shared that they have a new plan for freshman wide receiver Ronan Hanafin. Originally expected to redshirt, Hanafin will no longer do so as he has given the Tigers value so far this season.

“We took the redshirt off of Ronan (Hanafin),” the head coach said. “He actually played all last week, played special teams for us, and we’re going to continue. We just feel like he just brings a lot of value to us, and he’s going to just keep getting better.”

A member of Clemson’s 2023 class, Hanafin was one of the top athletes in the country in high school. According to 247Sports, he was the No.13 athlete and No.220 overall player.

This wasn’t the only update Swinney shared on Freshman. The head coach noted that the Tigers still intend to redshirt true freshmen wide receivers Noble Johnson and Misun “Tink” Kelley.

“We’re definitely, right now, still trying to redshirt Noble and also trying to redshirt Misun Kelley,” Swinney said. “We’re hoping we can get maybe another couple of games out of Misun, but we’ll see what happens.”

Changes can come, but this is the plan for now.

Dabo Swinney discusses freshmen wide receivers, who will play, and who will redshirt

Dabo Swinney broke down Clemson’s freshmen wide receivers and who we should expect to play or get redshirt.

The Clemson football program heads into the 2023 college football season with a high ceiling on offense but a wide receiver room that will need to step up for the Tigers to perform to the level they need to for a college football playoff appearance. 

During his radio call-in show Monday night, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney took the time to discuss the wide receivers, particularly the freshmen wideouts. Who of Tyler Brown, Ronan Hanafin, Misun “Tink” Kelley, and Noble Johnson will play, and who will redshirt? 

“Really liked the four that we signed, and Tyler Brown for sure’s going to play,” Swinney said. “Ronan, we’re going to redshirt, and then Noble and Tink, we’re going to try to hold them; we’ll see how it goes. A lot of it depends on (Troy) Stellato, who’s back now. He’s looked good the last few days. … He’s been here two years and hasn’t played (due to injuries). He’s a guy that certainly can do it, and he’s a bonus guy because we feel really good about our core group.”

A local product, Tyler Brown, has been incredibly impressive during his short time with the program, with Swinney and others raving about what he is capable of multiple times. Expectations were that Johnson would be the freshmen wide receiver to have the earliest impact, but Brown has seemed to separate himself from the group.

Swinney also touched on the rule changes with postseason games now not counting toward the four-game limit for freshmen keeping their redshirt status.

“They changed the rule this year where the postseason doesn’t count,” Swinney said. “So let’s just say you go to the national championship, well, you can play seven games. The postseason does not count. So you can play four games in the season, you can play the ACC Championship, a playoff game, and the national championship. You can play seven games and still be redshirted.”

Clemson’s freshmen wide receivers are in a good spot right now.

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Dabo Swinney on the Tigers’ freshmen wide receivers following Clemson’s first scrimmage

Dabo Swinney talked Clemson freshmen wide receivers following their first scrimmage.

Heading into the 2023 college football season, the Clemson wide receiver room will have to perform at a high level for the Tigers’ offense to remain consistent and compete with the top programs in the country.

Following their first scrimmage in Memorial Stadium, Swinney met with the media and discussed how the team’s true freshman wide receivers have looked. Speaking on Noble Johnson, Misun “Tink” Kelley, Tyler Brown, and Ronan Hanafin, Swinney discussed how they’ve been and what we can expect.

“Noble, Tink and Tyler are really in a good spot,” the head coach said. “Ronan has flashed. He’s made some really good competitive plays, but he’s probably got the most to learn at his position. But I feel really, really good about the progress Noble’s made. He’s had a couple pretty good days together. I think it’s slowing down a little.”

Great news for the Tigers, wide receiver is a position Clemson fans have been intrigued by heading into the season. While we know there are players in that room who can ball, someone needs to step up and be a go-to guy for Cade Klubnik. While they may not be ready yet, hearing players are on track is always a good sign.

“Y’all have heard me say – it’s Beaux (Collins), it’s Antonio (Williams), it’s Adam (Randall) and Cole (Turner) and it’s Spec (Brannon Spector). Those are five guys that we feel like we can go play anybody with,” Swinney said. So, it’s about really developing some elite depth after that and hopefully not having to start any of these guys, which we ended up having to do the last couple years. We had to start Beaux before he was really ready to start. We had to start Antonio. We’ve had to do that a little bit with injuries and stuff, so hopefully we can stay healthy and really bring these guys along at the proper pace and develop some elite depth.”

Clemson’s young wide receivers can focus on development rather than performance for the first time in a bit. Obviously, performance matters but practice performance and game performance are two different things. These young guys can do their work behind the scenes and develop rather than being thrust into playing time.

So far, so good for Clemson’s freshmen wide receivers.

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Massachusetts 2023 athlete had a great official visit with Notre Dame

The Irish hosted an East coast underrated star over the weekend

We are into the summer recruiting session and the Irish continue to push an envelope that has not been seen often. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] has completely changed the recruiting philosophy, going after players that former Notre Dame coaches never even thought would be options.

On Tuesday evening, Massachusetts 2023 athlete [autotag]Ronan Hanafin[/autotag] tweeted out a few pictures of his official visit along with tagging Freeman, offensive coordinator [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag], wide receiver coach [autotag]Chansi Stuckey[/autotag], tight end coach [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag], special teams coordinator [autotag]Brian Mason[/autotag], on-campus recruiting coordinator [autotag]Mackenzie Zanow[/autotag], and graduate assistant [autotag]Johnny Aylward[/autotag]. The six-foot-three-inch and 206-pound player is most likely being recruited on the offensive side of the ball after seeing who he tagged in his post.

The Irish going after Hanafin is a very positive development due to his current offer list which includes Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan and others. Although he is ranked by some outlets as a three-star prospect, that offer list shows that Hanafin might be underrated at the moment.

Hanafin has yet to schedule a date for a verbal commitment, but it might be soon as he has two more official visits to Alabama and Nebraska.

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4-star WR commit Hanafin goes in-depth on Clemson commitment

Ronan Hanafin knows that when he eventually leaves Clemson, he’ll be faster, stronger, smarter and most importantly, a better man. It’s why the four-star athlete out of Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Massachusetts) verbally pledged to Dabo …

Ronan Hanafin knows that when he eventually leaves Clemson, he’ll be faster, stronger, smarter and most importantly, a better man.

It’s why the four-star athlete out of Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Massachusetts) verbally pledged to Dabo Swinney’s program on Sunday evening.

“I believe in what Clemson does and how they do it,” Hanafin told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Wednesday. “All the coaches there — I have a lot of trust in them.”

Hanafin, one of the nation’s top-ranked athletes, informed Clemson of his decision about a week prior to this past Sunday’s announcement. He FaceTimed with Swinney, Tyler Grisham and Brandon Streeter and they were all super excited, jumping around like crazy.

From there, Hanafin made multiple phone calls to notify the coaches of his remaining finalists —Alabama, Notre Dame and Boston College — that he would not be coming to their program.

As Hanafin mentioned above, it wasn’t just one thing that set Clemson apart from the rest, but the program’s official visit weekend from June 3-5 really helped the Tigers’ case.

“It’s obviously everything Clemson has to offer in a couple of days, which is kind of a lot,” he said, “but you just have to take it all in and kind of experience everything for only a little bit. It was definitely an unreal time going there. We had a lot of fun with the other recruits.”

Speaking of the other recruits, Hanafin joins Rockwall (Texas) four-star Noble Johnson as Clemson’s other wide receiver commitment in its 2023 recruiting class. While Hanafin didn’t have a chance to meet Johnson, who wasn’t in attendance for Clemson’s official visit weekend, he spoke highly of his future teammate and how they can complement each other at the next level.

“I mean I think we’ll be a dynamic duo,” Hanafin said. “He’s obviously a very big and strong player, and I think I am too. I think we’re around the same size and I think we can do a lot of damage to defenses.”

They’ll have the opportunity to do so while catching passes from both Cade Klubnik and Christopher Vizzina. Hanafin has already gravitated towards both quarterbacks, as he bonded with Vizzina during Clemson’s official visit weekend. He also got the chance to spend time with Klubnik, who served as his player host for the weekend. 

Hanafin said that he meshed well with Vizzina and is excited to see what they can do on Saturdays in the future. As for Klubnik, the freshman signal-caller was the first player that Hanafin met when he went down to Clemson. They got real close during the process and he was one of the first to know of his decision to commit to Clemson.

While Vizzina and Klubnik both put on their recruiting caps, it was Tyler Grisham who recruited Hanafin the hardest.

“Coach Grisham is a great guy,” Hanafin said of Clemson’s wide receivers coach. “I originally started talking to him back in February. He obviously did a great job. He’s one of the most high-energy people on the planet and I feel like he’s a great mentor for me already. I’m very excited to see what he can do in the wide receiver room.”

With that said, what kind of role does Grisham see for Hanafin at the next level?

“I think to start I’d be like the outside, boundary position,” Hanafin said. “I think they really see me as a physical player, as well as having a lot of speed and being able to stretch the field. One of the things that Coach Grisham and Coach Streeter love about me is they like my versatility to be able to play pretty much wherever they want me to. I think I can do a number of things.”

All of Hanafin’s finalists offered him as an athlete, to begin with. They pretty much let him choose based on where they saw him. With Clemson, since Grisham was originally the one that reached out to Hanafin — the Tigers obviously liked him as a receiver, but they still left the choice up to him.

“I want to play receiver,” he said, “and obviously it’s a great program and I think under Coach Grisham and Coach Swinney, they definitely have the knowledge to be able to develop me into a great receiver.”

Hanafin won’t be able to be a mid-year enrollee, so he’ll have to wait until next June before he’s officially enrolled and on campus.

With that said, what can Clemson fans expect out of Hanafin once he arrives on campus?

“I think I’m a very versatile, athletic player,” Hanafin said. “I don’t want to pat myself on the back or anything, but I know I can get the job done and I’m excited to see what I can bring to Clemson and how I can help them win a national championship.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of @RonanHanafin on Twitter.

Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center.  Clemson returns as one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix.  If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.

Notre Dame misses on late rising athlete from Massachusetts

Losing Shipley still stings and now this

The Irish were early to find a potential gem in athlete [autotag]Ronan Hanafin[/autotag] out of Massachusetts. They were one of the first big powers to offer the most likely future wide receiver in November of last year. Other big time programs followed, including Alabama, Georgia, USC, LSU, Oklahoma and Ohio State.

Due to the early offer, many thought Hanafin was an Irish lean. An official visit in June of this year continued to fuel that belief. However, Hanafin announced on Tuesday his commitment to Clemson, taking another name off the board for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and the Irish.

Fortunately, the cupboard isn’t bare at the position; the Irish have commitments from [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], [autotag]Braylon James[/autotag] and [autotag]Rico Flores[/autotag]. What this does mean is Freeman has to go back to the drawing board to find another receiver recruit if four in the 2023 class was the desired number. Time will tell if that is the case, but for now the Irish have three very good commitments for their current cycle.

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Clemson lands commitment from top 2023 athlete

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers just added a massive commitment to their 2023 class, with a four-star prospect likely to play receiver.

Clemson has landed a massive verbal commitment from one of the country’s top recruits.

After long being pegged by recruiting analysts to commit to Notre Dame, four-star athlete Ronan Hanafin took to Twitter on Sunday to announce his pledge to the Tigers. He chose Clemson over Alabama, Boston College and Notre Dame.

Hanafin is the No. 18 athlete in the class of 2023 and the No. 5 prospect coming out of Massachusetts, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

While recruiting websites list him as an athlete, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Hanafin was primarily recruited by Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham and will likely play at receiver for the Tigers.

“I really loved my time at Clemson for my official visit,” Hanafin told 247Sports. “The whole trip my entire family and I were treated like part of the Clemson family. One of the biggest takeaways was how genuine everyone was from Coach Swinney and Coach (Tyler) Grisham to my player host Cade Klubnik who I got to spend a lot of good time with. I heard lots of ‘Swinneyisms’ from all the coaches there and they really lined up with my beliefs.”

Assuming Hanafin does line up at receiver, his commitment marks Clemson’s second from a wide receiver prospect, the other being four-star Noble Johnson.

With Hanafin’s commitment, Clemson now has 20 verbal commitments to its 2023 recruiting class, two of which are five-stars and 15 of which are four-stars.

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Clemson lands commitment from one of nation’s top athletes

Clemson has landed the verbal commitment of a top wide receiver prospect and Massaschutttes native. Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Cambridge, MA.) four-star Ronan Hanafin announced his commitment to the Tigers around 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. …

Clemson has landed the verbal commitment of a top wide receiver prospect and Massaschutttes native.

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Cambridge, MA.) four-star Ronan Hanafin announced his commitment to the Tigers around 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Hanafin, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound rising senior, chose Clemson over his other three finalists — Alabama, Notre Dame and Boston College.

Hanafin, one of the best two-way players in the country, is considered to be the nation’s No. 13 athlete and No. 166 overall prospect in the 2023 class, per 247Sports. The multi-faceted athlete, who has a unique skill set and desired versatility, could theoretically be an elite safety or linebacker at the next level, but he’s coming to Clemson to play receiver.

After picking up an offer from Clemson during an unofficial visit on March 31, Hanafin returned for Clemson’s official visit weekend from June 3-5. It was then and there that Clemson and specifically Tyler Grisham outlined the role they envisioned Hanafin playing at the next level.

“They see me at the outside receiver spot with the versatility to play down inside as well,” Hanafin told The Clemson Insider at the time. “It was humbling to hear that they see me as exactly the type of player and person they are looking for.”

Clemson has viewed Hanafin as a priority from the get-go. Grisham stopped by Buckingham Browne & Nichols School during the evaluation period in the spring and even stayed for one of Hanafin’s lacrosse games.

We had the chance to talk with Hanafin after his official visit. Since then, he’s chosen to keep his recruitment private and close to the vest. But earlier this summer, Hanafin indicated that he loved everything Clemson had to offer and could see himself in that environment.

Hanafin becomes the second receiver to verbally pledge their commitment to Dabo Swinney’s program, joining Rockwall (Texas) four-star Noble Johnson. They’ll both have a chance to not only complement each other in Grisham’s room but catching passes from Briarwood Christain’s (Alabama) five-star quarterback commit Christopher Vizzina.

Hanafin is the 20th total commitment in the Tigers’ class, joining Johnson, Vizzina, Thompson (Alabama) High five-star defensive lineman Peter Woods, Warner Robins (Georgia) four-star defensive lineman Vic Burley, Rome (Georgia) four-star  defensive tackle Stephiylan Green, Woodward Academy (Georgia.) four-star defensive end A.J. Hoffler, St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.) four-star defensive end David Ojiegbe,  Eagle’s Landing Christian (Georgia) four-star offensive lineman Zechariah Owens, Permian (Texas) four-star offensive lineman Harris Sewell, Vandegrift (Texas) four-star offensive lineman Ian Reed, Westlake (Georgia) four-star cornerback Avieon Terrell, First Baptist Academy (Florida) four-star tight end Olsen Patt Henry, St. Francis (Georgia) four-star cornerback Branden Strozier, Sumner (Florida) four-star safety Kylen Webb, Mill Creek (Georgia) four-star linebacker Jamal Anderson, Denmark (Georgia) four-star linebacker Dee Crayton, Milton High (Georgia) four-star safety Rob Billings and Archbishop Wood (Pennsylvania) three-star tight end Markus Dixon.

“It’s the tightest family I have seen anywhere,” Hanafin said. “All-in is a good way to describe it. The coaches, the players, their families — everyone is all in.”

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Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center.  Clemson returns as one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix.  If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.