Dabo Swinney gives shoutout to wide receiver room for improvement

The Clemson Tigers don’t have that go-to wide receiver that they’ve had in the past. Last year’s top receiver Justyn Ross left for the NFL, but head coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t believe that will be a problem – in fact, he raved about his receiver corps following the second scrimmage of fall camp Wednesday.

“I’ve been really pleased,” Swinney said about his receivers performances throughout camp. “[Brannon Spector] led us today in catches, he’s had a really good camp. It’s been awesome to see him be so consistent in practice every day. It’s been a long time, he’s just every day. You know, just keep showing up. [Dacari Collins] had a nice big play today. Him and Beaux [Collins] have a lot of starting experience for us.

“I’m excited about Cole Turner really excited about him. I mean, he’s going to be a really good player. Antonio [Williams], Antonio is going to help us, he made a nice big play today. Will Taylor just gets better every single day … We’ve got a really good group and I’m super proud of them.”

Swinney said someone compared Taylor to former Clemson standout and current NFL wideout Hunter Renfrow, but Swinney said Taylor’s had an even steeper hill to climb than Renfrow – who we know now was the ultimate walk-on. Taylor hasn’t been able to be on the field much this offseason due to a mid-season ACL tear that sidelined him for the majority of workouts.

Meanwhile at the top of the receiving corps, Joseph Ngata returns as Clemson’s top returning wide receiver. He finished with 23 passes for 438 yards and a touchdown over eight games, earning a start in nine of them. As his career has progressed with the Tigers, his role has only increased. That trend will continue into 2022.

“[Joseph Ngata] has been great,” Swinney said of Ngata’s production in camp. “He hasn’t missed anything, he hasn’t missed a rep he’s he’s, I think he had a day there where he hit his head was out a bit – he’s been awesome. He’s been an excellent leader for us.”

The first chance to see the Tigers wideouts in action won’t be until Sept. 5 when they take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. live on ESPN.