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YOUR BALANCE
Clemson WR room next season
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Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 1:38 PM

Many people are excited about how the Clemson WR room looks on paper heading into next season. There is a little star power and a great deal of potential that will be sitting in the room this spring and hopefully next fall.

Breaking down player by player, this is what I see from each of them:

It has to start with Justyn Ross.

Justyn Ross, if healthy, will be back to what Clemson fans got used to seeing from #1 WRs. He has the size and speed to dominate opponents. He is very deceptive in his routes and gets DBs leaning the wrong direction on a regular basis. He also has the ability to make the catch in close coverage and high point the ball. One area to improve is getting off of the line quicker and creating separation from DBs when he isn't able to fool them on his routes. Clemson fans are holding their breath and waiting to see him back on the field for the Tigers.

Frank Ladson is at a turning point in his career. Will he be Deon Cain or Martavis Bryant moving forward? I use those two options because both had blinding speed similar to Ladson. The difference in the players was their catch consistency. Ladson's eyes got him in trouble on routine catches and caused some drops this past season. If he can become consistent with his hands, he can create a Ross/Higgins or Hopkins/Watkins type combo on the outside for the Tigers.

Joseph Ngata has to get healthy to be assessed. Lot of fans like to decide early in a player's career where they stand. Anybody coming to a conclusion at this point on Ngata is being premature. For this reason, I don't have much on Ngata. The tools are there. He can run and has the strength to make plays at different points on the field. If he is healthy, I'm guessing we get a player similar to what we saw from Cornell Powell this season. There may not be a bigger IF in the group than Ngata's health though, which is saying something with Justyn Ross also in the group. Getting some extra work in the slot could be coming this spring depending on Ross' situation and how some other pieces in the group develop.

EJ Williams made huge strides in his true freshman season. He was asked to do much more than originally expected. He flashed the ability to find openings in a defense and come off of his route. He runs well enough even if he isn't going to be the fastest guy on the team. Adding strength in the offseason will be huge for him to take the next step as a blocker and a guy who can come down with the ball in traffic on a regular basis. If everyone is healthy, we can expect Williams to be the first guy off of the bench on the outside next season.

Brannon Spector needs to play faster. Spector has made a few catches here and there, but at this point in his career he hasn't shown the ability to play at full speed without the ball in his hands. If he can do that, I think Clemson fans will be pleased with his athletic ability. He is stronger and faster than many believe, but it must be used on the field to grab playing time if the WR room is healthy. Route running must be his prime focus in the offseason to fight off incoming talent behind him.

Ajou Ajou is the final returning WR with interest. In all honesty anything we get from him next season is a bonus. He came in to the program expecting to be a "4 game guy" as a freshman and do lots of learning in the process. He got that without having to use a redshirt. Now in what would have been his RS freshmen year, some fans are pushing expectations a little too fast. I do not expect him to be a contributor if those above him on this list are healthy. The physical tools are there so watch out if the light ever turns on for him!

As always, I would love to hear comments about what I am posting. The discussions are the reason I like to post on the board.

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I think the room looks really nice.

1

Jan 15, 2021, 1:48 PM

A bunch of dang good players in it, too!

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Hopefully this year they'll all be fully functional!


Jan 15, 2021, 1:56 PM

A good-looking room is useless if it's not functional!

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 1:58 PM

I think the key to next years WR's is going to be health.

I feel comfortable with Ladson being able to get healthy, but Ross and Ngata give me concern.

Healthy, Ross is one of the best WR's in the country and a potential Top 10 pick. Not sure about Ngata but the potential is there.

I really like Williams. I think he will be a big contributor next year.

The rest are still either developing or a mystery.

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Don't sleep on Beaux Collins!


Jan 15, 2021, 2:02 PM

Kid is a stud and already has chemistry with DJ from playing together in highschool. Decari and Troy both have the talent to come in and make and impact too. I'm bullish on this freshman class. Not uncommon for true freshman WRs to come to Clemson and ball out.

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Re: Don't sleep on Beaux Collins!


Jan 15, 2021, 2:32 PM

I thought about adding the incoming freshmen to the list, but in all honesty everything about them at this point is conjecture.

There isn't really any factual information I could have posted about them because you never know how a kid will transfer from the high school to the college game.

None of them will be Sammy Watkins when they step on campus, but I expect all of them to be solid contributors or better at some point in their careers.

Collins and Collins being early enrollees will help them, especially if anybody is limited at the start of spring practice while recovering from injuries sustained this past season.

Since you specifically mentioned Beaux Collins, I think he fits pretty closely with the mold of EJ Williams.

He is fairly polished for a high school WR, he is smooth in his movements, and he comes from a program that produces kids who are ready for the college game in terms of game speed and big game experience.

In all likelihood though, if we are healthy in front of him he won't do much more than Ladson or Ngata did as true freshmen.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 2:13 PM

Interesting post O. I like a healthy Ross, Ngata (Dabo’s a fan), and Williams to start when it counts next year. Nice write-up on Ladson - lots of potential, and Ajou will be a load when he’s ready. Also, we can’t overlook the Collins’ receivers (high school bud of DJ could be an early favorite) coming in as outside WR’s and incoming slot recvrs.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 2:39 PM

At this point I will take when I have seen Ladson do to opposing DBs over Dabo liking Ngata. Ngata is purely potential at this point, but Ladson has proven that he can be productive in a live game. The only thing Ladson has to prove is that he can be consistent.

I think in part Dabo has raved about Ngata because he knows that fans grow restless when they don't get to see a highly touted player on the field. Dabo always picks guys to love and some of them never meet his descriptions. I hope that isn't the case with Ngata but at this point he is behind Ladson.

Williams is also behind Ladson, but he is closer than Ngata. I think Williams is the reason that Ngata will see some work in the slot if he is healthy.

Ross, Ladson, and Williams are outside style WRs. Ngata seems like his body type could be a little more flexible and be used in the slot. I could be way off on this because he's never done it, but it's a hunch that I have.

I think both Collins are outside guys and Stellato will get a look at the 2 man and the slot positions depending on where they need him. Spector's development will be a major impact on what Stellato gets to do early.

I don't look for any of the 3 incoming freshmen to do anything besides make fans say "Wow! Look at the future!" in some spot duty. The changes is we aren't healthy, but I think the 5 or 6 in front of them will make it difficult on them to push into the 2 deep.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 2:57 PM

I am hesitant with freshmen. Having the Collins kids in early will help. Beaux will be a lot like Ladson in my opinion. He is not as fast as Ladson, but has some concentration issues. He makes a lot of plays, but drops quite a few catchable to routine balls (after watching him play HS games out here in Cali). He's a good kid and a worker, but there will be a transition. I don't have a bead on Decari Collins or Stellato. Most freshmen take time as you have pointed out.

I actually think Shipley will make the biggest impact of the freshmen receivers. I know he is an RB, but he most naturally fits in Amari's/Artavis role. He is dynamite in a bottle and physically ready day one. We will have a special package for him and if it clicks (and I expect it will) I expect 30-40 receptions and some highlights out of him.

I am higher on Ngata than you. His inability to stay on the field and his lack of down the field plays support your point, but he will shine this year. I pray Ross is healthy and can return to form (more for his sake than ours), but we will have to see. I think EJ will stay ahead of Ladson. He has some of the "It" factor that his star predecessors have had.

I am really excited about our TE position. If we can key the TE, this WR group will explode in my opinion. Let's hope Ross gets healthy and DJU maintains his. It will be a fun year.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 3:07 PM

Lots of good stuff here.

Remember Beaux Collins hasn't played football since his junior year of high school. Hopefully he has worked on his hands during the year and a half of downtime.

I will caution you on Shipley. You are ignoring the comments you made about the freshmen WRs and assuming Shipley will not only skip the learning curve but will do it at a new position. That's bold and I'm staying away from anything close to that in terms of expectations for him. I don't want to be severely disappointed while the kid is having a solid freshman year.

I'm not low on Ngata, but I can't put him ahead of Ladson or Williams in terms of expectations until he spends more time on the field. The only reason I see him as a starter with Williams as a backup is because I think he can transition to the slot better than Ladson or Williams.

Most people are down on Ladson because his impact was a long time ago. Most people are high on Williams because he exceeded expectations. I can assure you that with a full strength Ladson and a full strength Williams against OSU, OSU would have respected Ladson a whole lot more. He is dangerous because of his elite speed! Again, he does have some work to do, but he is scary to defenses.

Williams only passed Ladson because of injury, not because of performance.

I will be very pleased if we can have a dependable Williams and a scary Ladson in a rotation together with both healthy.

TE could be good if used, but that is a different conversation.

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Ladson showed early in the season while he was healthy


Jan 15, 2021, 5:32 PM

that he could get deep on people with ease. He didn't always make the catch, but neither many of our best receivers early in their careers.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 16, 2021, 5:22 AM [ in reply to Re: Clemson WR room next season ]

I wouldn't expect Shipley to change positions, but do think their might be the potential to have some impact at WR shifting him out and running an empty backfield. It certainly could create the opportunity of a mismatch from time to time.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 10:06 AM

Shifting him out and running an empty backfield is another way of saying that he will motion to the WR position and run routes.

I'm not saying he won't do that a few times, but the idea that he makes a major impact for the offense by doing WR type things is expecting a lot of a freshman RB.

People said the same thing about Dukes when Elliott praised his great pass catching skills and I'm not sure that we've seen him do that once, even with our thin WR room this season.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 10:10 PM

Excellent discussion as usual. Hopefully the TD was a fat finger but whatever. Has anyone heard if Ladson going to need any foot surgery? Just curious how he's doing.

Question:
I might have to disagree with you on Ladson and Ngata health. Is he just injury prone? Knee surgery in spring 19, then hip pointer? Or some type of hip injury in practice, comes back then has a foot injury. Do we need to give the fella some calcium, or put meat on his bones... FYI Just kidding for the PC police.

But he'll be a first rounder if he can stay healthy. I pick martavis btw. And here's why, God willing, Ross will play and he'll be the alpha leader in that crowded WR room. I think that will help Ladson relax and concentrate and the hands will relax and get softer. See where I'm going? Yes/no - full of shyatt? Tia

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 10:27 PM

It would also be nice if another RB was as good as TE receiving out of the backfield.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 15, 2021, 10:56 PM

We already have that in my opinion. Not sure what is going on with Dixon this past season, but he was by far a better pass catcher than ETN last season. Not sure if he was unhealthy, in the doghouse or what, but he will be a very serviceable back imo, likely getting the start and tough situation downs, with the young blood coming in as they get hotter.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 16, 2021, 10:16 AM

Time for Lyn J to step up and be the leader. Haven't paid much attention to he and Chez's blocking skills. I won't be surprised to see chez step up and be our 1. Can't remember his receiving skills though. I do know he stuck around when etn announced he was returning and that showed me a lot. Coaches really love his work ethic... If you remember, he was only 17 coming in so this could be his year to bust out.

Both will have challenges from Shipley and mafah. Will be interesting to see what the x and o experts say.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 10:15 AM

My opinion is that anyone making statements about what happens with the RBs is at best taking an educated guess.

I have a few guesses of my own, but nothing more than that.

The leader in the room will be Rencher, but I hope he is not the leader on the field because that would mean the more talented players are regressing instead of stepping up.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 10:16 AM [ in reply to Re: Clemson WR room next season ]

Health and doghouse were both problems for Dixon this past season.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 10:21 AM

Will Swinney too.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 11:06 AM

He was a senior this past season and I haven't heard his plans to return or not.

Either way, my thoughts were only on returning scholarship guys in the group.

If I get around to covering options at Holder, he will be on the top of the list if he says he is coming back.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 11:18 AM

The incoming Stellato is going to surprise people, just a gut feeling. Dude is fast with great hands. His video I watched, I was pretty excited to get him to CU.

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Re: Clemson WR room next season


Jan 19, 2021, 1:43 PM

Call me crazy and I like the idea of 6'3" and taller Wr's, but having guys like Devonta Smith, and those Bama receiver's who are so #### elusive and FAST screams at me to get a few of those and use them the way Bama did. Get them in motion at full speed throw the ball to them and it's one on one for the first 8 to 10 yards and look out! How many of Smith's yards that got credited as passing yardage were actually laterals and should have been rushing yardage? Quite a few against OcryO st were laterals that Smith and his pals turned into huge gains.

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