Grisham looking for receivers that have "that dog" in them

Grisham is looking for players who want to be tough on the perimeter.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Mar 30 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson rushed for a little over 2,100 yards last season, but blocking on the perimeter wasn’t as strong as it has been in past seasons, something that wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham is looking to correct.

The Tigers’ wide receiver corps was gutted by injuries again last season, but even the healthy players struggled at blocking on the perimeter. One receiver – who has since moved on – never seemed to grasp the intricacies of blocking on wide receiver screens and as a result failed to see the field as much as he would have liked.

Grisham hopes to change that this season.

"That was an issue at times. That comes back to personnel and having some guys in some areas because of injuries that maybe didn't suit them as well, but that's not an excuse,” Grisham said Monday night. “For me, I've made that more of emphasis on the field and in the meeting room and showing them more looks. Really making sure we feel good about our perimeter blocking and our spot blocking, where you don't have a defender necessarily but you have a spot and knowing coverage depending on who shows up to that spot. I was so eager heading into mat drills to get back on the field to just fix it."

Grisham was known as a good blocker during his time on the field, despite not being the biggest player on the field, and he said that blocking is a mindset.

"Blocking isn't that hard. It's technique and understanding of concepts and where the ball is being run outside, wide zone or a bubble to the running back,” he said. “Understanding concepts is important, but really, it's being a grown man. It's being angry. It's a violent sport. I blocked more than I caught passes at Clemson. For me, it's that challenge of telling them they have to be angry to do their job well and dominate the man across from them. It's something we've talked about a lot.

"We have worked good-on-good with our defense in half-line drills and perimeter drills. It favors the defense because they know what's coming, they know it's screens. I mean you got Barrett Carter barreling downhill at you and you're trying to block the spot and you can't really attack but you have to kind of position block him, it's not easy. But man, you have to have that dog to you. That has been created out here in practice. I'll say this: we have put them in that situation more than ever before. We have so many images now in practice to coach off of, more than ever before. You're going to see better perimeter blocking. You're going to see more yards after the catch. I believe that."

At different times during the interview, Grisham compared big-time wide receivers to Ferraris, and he said that players who are stars in high school have trouble transitioning to doing the dirty work on the collegiate level.

"I'm looking for tough guys. That's one of the main things I'm looking for. But sometimes, it can be developed a little bit,” Grisham said. “Maybe you're watching film of a five-star kid making plays but he's not blocking. Well his high school coach probably isn't making him block. They don't make that an emphasis. That happens all the time. You have to have that conversation with the high school receiver coach to see how it's taught. But you better love it or learn to love it pretty quick."