Clemson Football has been mired in a rut with wide outs and injuries for the previous few years.
We’ve said a few times that the Tigers have a habit of having a freshman wide receiver step up and create a lot of enthusiasm, only to be hindered by injuries as sophomores. Beaux Collins was a 2021 freshman who started well in 2022 but was eventually injured enough to miss the majority of the second half of the season.
Antonio Williams stepped up in Collins’s absence and looked great, but was limited as a sophomore as well. We all hope Tyler Brown can break the cycle in 2024 and continue the momentum he gained as a freshman in 2023.
Another unfortunate trend for the receivers has been limited availability for spring practices. Several players have missed part or all of the spring in the past two seasons.
It seemed like that trend was changing slightly this year. We learned Brown was recovering from surgery and somewhat limited. We also found out rising second-year guys Ronan Hanafin and Noble Johnson would be unavailable while they continued to recover from ailments.
Everything else appeared to be going OK. Cole Turner returned after missing nearly the whole 2023 season, and incoming freshman Bryant Wesco had enrolled early.
Just over a week into sessions, we might want to temper our expectations of an easily accessible wide receiver bunch.
Adam Randall’s latest attempt thrilled admirers a little more than a week ago.
Troy Stellato was a significant asset to the receivers in 2023 after being largely shelved for the first two seasons in the program. He began spring practice but it appears that he will not complete it.
There are only two unexpected players. In Stellato’s instance, it appears that the staff was aware of the impending event, but chose not to communicate it. I do not blame them. Clemson fans are probably sensitive to injury news at this moment. I know I am.
