Talented signee Troy Stellato ready to crack Wide Receiver U lineup

Stellato is ready to get to campus.

by Jake Pierce - Recruiting Reporter - Tue Apr 06 14:41:52 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson restocked the receiver room with the 2021 class, bringing in a trio of talented receivers. Two of those receivers are already on campus, and the third is getting ready to arrive and make an impact.

Troy Stellato was a key member to Clemson’s 2021 recruiting class, with the Tigers beating out Ohio State for the 4-star receiver. At 6-1, 175-pounds, Stellato was rated as the No. 174 player overall in the country according to 247Sports. Stellato will bring a toughness and an additional inside receiving threat to the Clemson offense, and the playmaking receiver is preparing himself to contribute early on in the Tiger offense.

Stellato is coming off of a successful high school season in which he ended his career with a state championship for Cardinal Gibbons (FL). Stellato suffered a sports hernia injury during the season that limited his playing time, but he still managed to be a key factor in the state championship run. Since the end of the season, Stellato has started to prepare his body for college football and get back to full force.

“I’m just training right now and getting my body right and recovering,” Stellato told TigerNet. “I went through an injury this past season, so I’m really just working to get back to 110 percent. I’ve been hitting the weights, just working on a lot of stability and control and a lot of short area quickness. I’ve been working on my game and improving my craft and getting back to 110 percent. I’m feeling good. I’ve been really getting after it.”

Stellato has also taken this time to learn the playbook and the details of his position, with the plan being for Stellato to come in and play the inside receiver position.

“I’ve been talking to coach (Tyler) Grisham a little but about that stuff and he’s been filling me in on all of that,” Stellato said. “In the next few weeks, me and him are going to get on the phone a couple of times a week and really get after it when they get into install and helping me to learn that position more. It’s not like I’m coming in not knowing what to do. I’ve seen the playbook and all of that, but it will be good to hear another voice taking me through all of it. Primarily, I think they want me inside right now. They said I could play outside too, so I’m going to learn inside and then I’ll start branching out and learning more about the outside.”

Stellato and the ’21 class bring a wealth of talent to Clemson, and the expectations are high coming in. What does Stellato expect from himself and the talented group that he is coming in with?

“I think I can crack that lineup and get in the games this year. My goal is just to get some playing time and obviously help the team and make an early impact,” he said. “I’m going to come in and do everything I can to do that. Preparation-wise, I’m preparing to play a good amount. I’m just going to come to practice, come to work, and give 110 percent. I think we have a really talented class and the receiver room I think is a little underrated, in my opinion. I think me, Dacari (Collins), and Beaux (Collins) are one of the best, if not the best, receiving classes in ’21. They just bring such great size and Beaux is really creative on his route running and a polished receiver. They are both really solid guys.

"I think we each bring something to the table that can really help the offense. And the running backs we got, Phil (Mafah) and Will (Shipley), I think they can make impacts early. And Jake (Briningstool) is going to be big-time too. He’s super talented. I’m just a big fan of everyone in this class. I think down the line we will have a lot of NFL guys, for sure.”

Stellato is also excited about coming to catch passes from quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and is also excited about the lineup of Clemson quarterbacks after Uiagalelei.

“That’s a big reason why I came to Clemson is to play with a quarterback like that,” Stellato said of Uiagalelei. “He can make every type of throw. He’s going to be a really big-time player in college football over the next few years. He will be a first-round pick. I think everyone in Clemson and everyone in the nation believes that. And after DJ, we have Bubba (Chandler) and Cade (Klubnik) and I love those two guys.”

What is Stellato most looking forward to about his Clemson career?

“I’m just looking forward to proudly wearing that Clemson jersey,” he said. “It’s been a dream of mine to play college football and obviously the NFL also. Playing at a school like this is completely surreal. I’m most looking forward to that first game and getting on the field and showing what I can do. I’m just ready to get to work.”