Dabo Swinney announces Clemson receiver Ronan Hanafin has moved to defense

Dabo Swinney announced during his press conference on Tuesday that Clemson wide receiver Ronan Hanafin has moved to the defensive side of the ball.

A former four-star recruit in the class of 2023, Hanafin played in 11 games for the Tigers last season, getting action at both receiver and on special teams.

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Clemson moved Hanafin to the defensive side of the ball during fall camp. The plan is for him to learn both safety spots, as well as Nickel.

“Yea, we moved him to defense about three weeks ago. … We really are excited about Ronan. … You know, a lot of people offered him as a defensive player. Alabama offered him as a defensive player. Some people offered him as a receiver,” Dabo Swinney said. “And I told his family upfront, I loved who he was. It was easier for me to evaluate him as a defensive player. He was a no-brainer.

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“It was harder for me to evaluate him as a receiver, because all he did was run by people and jump up and caught a ball and ran a slant. It was just harder to evaluate him as a true wide receiver.”

As Swinney said, Hanafin played on both sides of the ball during his high school days but wanted to start out at receiver at Clemson.

The Clemson coaching staff and Hanafin are now on the same page about him playing defense, and Swinney shared that he has fully bought in.

“There’s nobody on this team that works harder than Ronan Hanafin – nobody,” Swinney said. “And he’s one of the best pure football players on this team. This kid is special. He can flat-out play the game. But after spending a year with him, I just think he’s more natural on the defensive side.”

Ronan Hanafin saw action only on special teams during Saturday’s season opener against Georgia and Swinney was pleased with what he saw. Down the line, he will contribute on defense, too.

“Just turn on the special teams tape. He almost blocked a punt the other night. He’s the first guy down the field. He’s unbelievable. The unfortunate thing for him right now is we did move him in camp, so he’s a little behind… We’ve gotta get a foundation built for him. But there will be a role for him on this team,” Swinney said. “We’re going to really develop him. I see him as a guy that has a chance to really be a high-level player for us defensively. He’s just natural. He can run. He’s physical. He’s got what you can’t coach.

“You can’t coach his toughness. You can’t coach the will that that kid has inside of him. He’s relentless. … We’ve gotta do a great job with him this year and then this next couple of years I think you’re going to see something special with Hanafin. He’s going to be a good one.”