Leggett not worried about touches despite wealth of offensive talent

Leggett hauled in eight touchdowns last season

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Aug 24 21:06:08 GMT-04:00 2016

CLEMSON – Jordan Leggett caught a combined 26 passes during his first two years on campus, but caught 40 last season for 525 yards and eight touchdowns as he developed into one of Deshaun Watson’s favorite redzone targets.

Now he wonders if his production will slip because of the wealth of playmakers on Clemson’s roster but says he doesn’t stay up at night wondering if made the right decision to return for his senior season because he knows Watson will put the ball in the hands of playmakers.

“I definitely thought about that with the decision on whether or not to come back, but I know Deshaun is going to get the ball to everybody, so I'm not really worried about it. I'm just going to go out there and do my thing - kind of let the ball find me,” Leggett said after a recent practice. “We have a lot of talent, so this offense is going do numbers this year and I'm excited to see. We have depth at every position and I think we're just going to go out there and maybe be one of the best offenses to play in that stadium.”

He’s also made peace with the fact that no one player will stand out.

“It's hard to say because there are just so many playmakers out there,” he said. “I mean, we have Mike (Williams) and Tay (Scott) and all of them. Milan (Richard) had a great scrimmage the other day, so I'm kind of excited for him. He's stepped up into that role, so it's just going to be fun to see. There's just really not one player that's going to do it all because we have everybody.”

The tight end spot – which has been thin in recent seasons – has depth with the emergence of Milan Richard and Garrett Williams, with Cannon Smith and D.J. Greenlee providing even more depth.

Richard has been especially impressive.

“Yes. He has really looked good these past couple of days,” Leggett said. “He's just been taking the coaching from Coach Pearman. He's taking it from the meeting rooms to the field, and it's just really good to see. Coach Swinney recognized it the other day in the huddle. We've just been looking for that guy who was going to step up in that role and Milan is making his way up to the top.”

Williams, who played significant snaps last season, might be ahead on the depth chart.

“They all have different strengths. Milan showed that he could stretch the field and make plays, and Garrett is just a guy that you can depend on,” Leggett said. “If you had to choose right now, who'd you put out there, it would probably be Garrett.

“He's just a very consistent guy, especially in the blocking game and he can also run routes - that's all he's worked on this summer. You have guys like DJ Greenlee and Cannon Smith who are just bigger body guys. You're going to see them a lot in three-down tight ends and stuff like that. There is a lot of good things out there with the tight ends.”

The opener at Auburn is on the horizon, and Leggett is ready to face a team with a different jersey.

“It's about time,” he said. “We've been playing each other the whole summer, so it's going to be good to see some other faces across the ball.”