Collins: “We can finish as one of the hottest teams in the country”

Beaux Collins scored a TD in last week's Georgia Tech game.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Nov 16 16:31:02 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Now that Clemson has achieved bowl eligibility, it has a new goal in mind: win out for the seniors.

Junior wide receiver Beaux Collins explained that the mentality right now for the Tigers is to play for their brothers and finish as one of the hottest teams in the country.

“Trying to finish for our seniors, that’s the biggest thing right now, just sending them out on a good note. Coach Swinney has been preaching to us (that) we can finish as one of the hottest teams in the country, especially with the teams that we have to play,” Collins said. “With that being Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, they had a great offense coming into that game, and this week, we have a pretty tough matchup. So, if we win out, it would be special for our seniors to go out on that note. So that’s been our main focus, just everybody digging in deep, putting our heads down and going to work.”

This Saturday against North Carolina marks the final home game of the season and, thus, Senior Day. There are several seniors on this prominent Tiger team. But one person Collins mentioned that does not get much attention is redshirt senior Hamp Greene.

Greene only has four receptions in his five-season career with Clemson, but he made it count as his 12-yard catch against Charleston Southern in the home opener was the No. 1 highlight of the day on ESPN's SportsCenter. While his numbers are small, his impact is large off the field for this team.

“He’s the same guy day-in and day-out. He comes in with the biggest smile on his face. I’ve never seen him have a bad day really,” Collins said. “He’s just a ball of energy, comes in, if he sees somebody down one day, he’ll make sure that it’s his mission to go sit with him at a table, talk to him, and we’re just going to miss a guy like that for sure. He’s like the backbone of our group, I’d say.”

For another Clemson offensive leader, Collins describes that Will Shipley returned to practice from recent a concussion protocol stint with more intensity than usual, which is surely saying a lot for Shipley.

“He just had an intensity that we normally didn’t see from him. He’s normally an uplifting guy during practice, a lot of energy,” Collins said. “But, first couple days back in practice, he was locked in, not really saying much, doing his job full speed, running to the end zone every play he touched the ball. So, he was definitely in a different mode.”

With so many veteran players on this team, they are being led by a young quarterback - sophomore Cade Klubnik. Things started out rocky for Klubnik with fumbles; however, the more recent phenomenon is interceptions. Nonetheless, his play overall has improved. Collins believes part of that is from a growing trust between Klubnik and the offensive line.

“There’s a lot of plays that we know he can make with his legs, and just him being able to do that when we need it is very key, and I feel like he’s becoming more comfortable in the pocket, just trusting the o-line. Those dudes, they work hard there,” Collins said. “So, he has a lot more trust in them, just getting more comfortable in this offense, and really, I’d just say situational awareness is the biggest thing with him, and he’s doing a great job with that.”