Dabo Swinney shares plan for freshmen WRs, reveals who is 'pushing' for starting spot

Dabo Swinney is pleased with all four receivers Clemson signed in the class of 2023. With that said, one in particular has stood out during the preseason.

Swinney recently revealed to WCCP that Tyler Brown has “pleasantly surprised” during the preseason. Clemson returns Antonio Williams in the slot after he put together a freshman All-American season in 2022. However, Brown has proven that he deserves plenty of reps there, too.

“Tyler Brown has put himself in our top six, for sure,” Swinney said. “He’s backing up Antonio. And not just backing up Antonio, he’s pushing Antonio. So I think that makes us better. So it’s exciting.”

Outside of Brown, Misun Kelley seems to be the receiver most ready to help right away. However, Clemson would like to redshirt Kelley if possible.

The plan could change if the Tigers have some injuries, but if not Kelley, Noble Johnson and Ronan Hanafin all appear headed toward a redshirt year.

“I’m not surprised at all with Misun Kelley, because I watched him with my own eyes for pretty much his whole career,” Swinney said of the Daniel High product. “He’s a baller and has got a great future in front of him. But we’ve just got a lot of depth.”

Swinney added that Johnson and Hanafin will help Clemson in the years to come. They just aren’t quite as far along yet.

Those two shouldn’t be needed unless the injury bug really takes a toll.

“Noble Johnson is a guy that has really, really improved from where he was. This kid is physically very, very gifted. Mentally he’s still kind of catching on. But Tyler Brown is definitely going to help us. Tink – Misun Kelley – he could help us, for sure. But now we’re at that point where we’ve gotta make decisions. There’s only so many reps. You don’t want to waste guys,” Swinney said.

“Ronan is going to be super talented. He’s got a bright future. The same thing – big, strong. But he’s just never really been developed like he needs to. He’s never had to at the position. So we’re going to try to hold him. We’ll see what happens with Tink. … Feel very, very good about our first six guys, and then we’ve got some good depth behind them.”

Those first six heading into the season are Beaux Collins, Williams, Adam Randall, Cole Turner, Brown and Brannon Spector. Troy Stellato could get into that mix, too, if he can stay healthy.

“We’ve kind of got four guys that we see as starters,” Swinney said of Collins, Williams, Randall and Turner. “Only three of them can run out there, so that’s created a ton of competition. But I think we’ve got four guys that will play starter snaps, and then it’s a really good situation with Tyler Brown and Spec and where they are. And now we’ve got Stellato back.”