Swinney waiting on Adam Randall to cut it loose

Randall draws a pass interference penalty Saturday against Syracuse.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Oct 03 16:35:06 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Dabo Swinney believes in Adam Randall. He just wants the sophomore receiver to be more consistent and finally cut it loose.

An injury derailed the start of Randall’s freshman season in 2022, and he finished the season with ten catches for 128 yards. He tore his ACL and missed the spring but returned for fall camp, and the coaches were hoping Randall would finally realize his full potential.

He’s started three games this season and earned a season-high 68 snaps against Florida State. Against the Seminoles, he reeled in two catches for 12 yards. Randall started against Syracuse last Saturday and drew an early pass interference penalty but played a season-low eight snaps as Troy Stellato played a career-high 61 snaps.

Swinney was asked what he’d seen out of Randall.

“Inconsistent. Kind of inconsistent. That would be my biggest thing right now,” Swinney said. “He has not had quite as much opportunity, so some of it is not his fault, but just a little inconsistent. We just got to get him to cut it loose. This kid is a great talent and a great player. We just need a little bit more consistency from him in a couple of areas.”

Swinney said that Randall, who might not trust his knee entirely, just needs to cut it loose and play at full speed.

“Just inconsistent with having his motor running all the time,” Swinney said. “I think that is the biggest thing with him. When his motor is running, he is a handful. As you saw with the first PI (pass interference flag), he ran right by the guy, and sometimes he will (slow down) a little bit, and we just have to get him to consistently cut it loose. When he does, he is a problem.”

Despite Randall’s lack of success, Swinney merely needs to point to Stellato as a player who has overcome an injury to find success. Stellato had played a grand of 61 snaps in his career prior to Saturday, when he matched that total and added his first career touchdown.

“He is still a young player, developing and maturing,” Swinney said. “He is no different than a guy like (Troy) Stellato, who is having success, but he is in his third year and has been sitting on the sideline for two years.

“He is excited, so here is a guy that is still a relatively young player that is coming off an ACL injury last year and played his way back into the groove and is fully trying to figure it out and get his confidence where it needs to be. The main thing is just playing at the tempo we need him to play at all the time.”