CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Lot of tread on the tires: WRU rotation keeps receivers fresh and engaged
Justyn Ross didn't start last season but led the Tigers in receiving yards with 1000

Lot of tread on the tires: WRU rotation keeps receivers fresh and engaged


by - Senior Writer -

CLEMSON – Clemson has the most talented collection of wide receivers in the country, but don’t think that depth scares away the players who might not be number one of the depth chart. If you play for wide receivers coach Jeff Scott and deserve to play, you’ll play.

The Tigers enter the 2019 season with a group of receivers that include veterans Justyn Ross, Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers, TJ Chase, Cornell Powell, and Diondre Overton. Add in talented freshmen Frank Ladson, Joe Ngata, and Brannon Spector, and Scott has talent all over the field.

“For us, it kind of goes back to the culture that's been created here. Having a talented wide receiver room is not anything new,” Scott said. “One of the pictures that I show in the recruiting process is that 2012 wide receiver group and I've got a picture of six of them on the bench. And all six of those guys have had an opportunity to play in the NFL. You may think of some other programs and think of one or two wideouts over the last five or six years, but when you think about Clemson, there's a lot of guys.”

At Clemson, you don’t have to start to be a major contributor.

“It was awesome last year that Justyn Ross was our leading receiver and didn't start one game,” Scott said. “So that says a lot a to those other guys that maybe aren't the starter right now that you're going to get an opportunity for us.”

In other words, if a player puts the work in during practice and deserves to play, he will play.

“Coach Swinney is really big on if a guy deserves to play, he's earned the opportunity to play, then we need to give them those opportunities,” Scott said. “The ball finds guys in the games who really have earned that and get open in practice. The quarterback develops that trust and practice through fall camp and through consistency day after day. It's something that we talk about and the guys have to buy into and it's something we talked about in the recruiting process as well.

“We play seven guys a game. And to be honest, I feel like that's been one of the reasons for our success. I think we’ve played 59 games in four years and you look at us the last two games last year, our guys were fresh and ready to go out there and make plays. And, a big reason for that is because they had a lot of tread left on their tires because of the way that we kind of split up the reps throughout the year. And we've been able to develop those, a lot of depth at that position.”

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