CLEMSON – Clemson’s offense lost wide receivers Deon Cain and Ray-Ray McCloud a year early to the professional ranks.
No sweat.
Sophomores Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers appeared to be more-than-capable replacements Saturday in Clemson’s Orange and White spring game at Memorial Stadium.
While four quarterbacks continued to wage a battle that may keep multiple names in the hunt into the fall, Higgins and Rodgers served notice that they’re the frontrunners for dramatically increased roles in 2018.
“That’s why they came here,” said Tony Elliott, Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator. “We don’t want to just throw out that we’re Wide Receiver U – we’ve got to prove it.
“Those guys chose to come here because of our tradition. They knew they were going to get opportunities. They may have had to wait their turn because of the people ahead of them, but they know it’s their time.”
They certainly shined Saturday. Both had 118 all-purpose yards to lead their respective teams in that category
The rangy Higgins, who’s 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, resembled an up-and-coming Mike Williams in multiple instances Saturday, using his body to shield defenders and high-pointing the ball with an accuracy that belied his youth.
Higgins’ matchups against smaller defensive backs seemed almost unfair, particularly when 5-11 cornerback Mark Fields attempted to thwart Higgins on his first touchdown catch of the game. Higgins simply pulled away from Fields and easily gathered in a 50-yard pass delivered via the arm of freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Lawrence’s first drive at the helm early in the first quarter.
Higgins later added an 18-yard touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Hunter Johnson with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
Both looked easy.
Higgins finished with a game-high four catches for 118 yards and the two scores to help the Orange team to a 28-17 victory in front of 55,000 fans – the second-largest spring game crowd in program history.
Rodgers, who at 5-9, 210 pounds is considerably thicker than McCloud, showed some flash with three receptions for 34 yards, but perhaps made a bigger statement in the return game.
Rodgers proclaimed last week that he had every intention of holding on to his job as a return man, and he did nothing to undermine that quest Saturday what with two kickoff returns for a total of 46 yards and two punt returns for 40 yards.
“I wanted to see Amari in that setting,” said Jeff Scott, Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. “I felt like he made a lot of good decision, fielded the ball well. Overall I was really pleased. He’s been that way all spring long. It wasn’t like he just came out today and did a good job.”
It appears that Clemson again has an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver. Everyone knows what Hunter Renfrow can do, and he had three catches for 57 yards on Saturday, but there are plenty of other pass catchers whom many other teams around the country would love to be able to pencil in as starters.
T.J. Chase, Cornell Powell and Diondre Overton, who had a 50-yard touchdown pass with 4:18 left in the game, are potential game changers, and graduate Trevion Thompson, who returned for a final season despite making only 11 catches last season, has repeatedly earned the praise of coaches this spring.
Then there’s Derion Kendrick, a freshman from Rock Hill, who had a nifty move to turn a short gain into a 21-yard pickup.
At this point, it certainly appears that Clemson has an embarrassment of riches again at the wide receiver position, and if the performances on Saturday by Higgins, Rodgers and company are an accurate indicator, the Tigers may continue to claim to the title of “Wide Receiver U” for the foreseeable future.