Back in the slot: Brannon Spector excited for his return to game action

Brannon Spector is ready for his return to the field.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Aug 25 13:28:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Brannon Spector makes his long-awaited return to the field when Clemson kicks off the season against Georgia Tech on Labor Day, almost nine months to the day after surgery to correct the issue that cost him the 2021 season. And he’s more than thrilled to do it close to home.

Spector is a slot receiver and Clemson football legacy who enters 2022 with 19 career catches for 152 yards and two rushes for 21 yards in 221 snaps over 14 games (one start).

He missed the 2021 season with respiratory challenges that stemmed from a bout with COVID, and then he dealt with gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), which led to his surgery on December 9th of last year (GERD occurs when stomach acid flows back into the esophagus). GERD has similar symptoms to COVID, and a specialist was able to give Spector the correct diagnosis and schedule that surgery.

Spector said he lost weight during the illness and was once as low as 170 pounds, but he’s now sitting close to 205 and feeling great.

“I got back into it and started eating again. Once I was able to eat about everything I normally could eat, my weight started to stack up and then I continued that,” Spector said. “I like to eat pretty clean normally, but I work hard, but just a lot of training, a lot of eating. If you do what everyone else does here, you'll have no problem gaining weight. They make it very easy for us. The nutrition staff and the weight room staff (do a great job).”

A native of Calhoun, Georgia, Spector is excited to play in front of a lot of friends and family when the Tigers open the season against the Yellow Jackets in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“For sure. I've always wanted to get back. It didn't really matter where it was. But to be back in Georgia, back in Atlanta, 45 minutes to an hour from home, it's pretty awesome,” he said. "I'm sure we'll have a lot of friends and family. There will be a lot of people watching and there are a lot of people from my hometown. They always reached out to me throughout this past year, hoping I can get back out there. But for me to be back out there the first game, I'm sure they're all going to be really happy. For me, I'm excited to play.”

Spector said he’s been dreaming of this day for a long time, and he never gave up hope that he would make it back out on the field.

“I thought it was (possible). I just didn't know when really. Didn't know how long the recovery process was going to take,” he said. “Honestly, sometimes it seemed like it was never going to happen, but for it to happen and me to be back, I'm beyond blessed and just so happy to be back.”

Spector said he feels like he’s more explosive than he’s ever been; he’s jumping and running routes with ease, and using his hands to not only get off defenders but to high-point the ball when needed. He credits the new trainer with getting him to this point.

“I truly feel great. The new training staff, Pat Richards, has done a great job since he got here,” Spector said. "He started doing tune-ups, which is basically if we have anywhere that needs to be tuned up, he has little exercises that we can do. And for me, it was mostly my knees. I struggled a lot with tendinitis, but since Pat got here, I've been doing a lot of tune-ups, and that's helped me out a lot. I’ve stayed healthy throughout camp and I am working on my endurance and being healthy again.

“I feel a lot better. I feel lighter running around and just knowing the playbook and being here for four years now, it's all in the back of my head, and it's just easy. So, it's not really hard for me to think, I just go on the fly and I can run and play free.”