Tee Higgins on injury: I hope to be back by first game

Higgins says he tweaked his hamstring but hopes to be back soon

by Tom Meares - Correspondent - Fri Aug 05 15:28:20 GMT-04:00 2016

One of the marquee prospects in Clemson's already stellar 2017 recruiting class could miss the start of his senior high school season due to a hamstring injury.

Tee Higgins – the five-star receiver out of Tennessee's Oak Ridge High School who committed to the Tigers on the Fourth of July with a flashy, fireworks-festooned video – mentioned the injury Thursday morning on his Twitter account.

“Hate being hurt,” he tweeted, adding an angry emoji. He followed a minute later, “Hopefully I'm back by first game!!”

Higgins confirmed his injury this afternoon in a phone call with TigerNet, then explained what happened via text message.

“I pulled my hamstring back in May playing AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball,” he texted. “I've been doing rehab on it and I tweaked it again in practice a week ago, so I've been out the past 2 (practices).”

Higgins recently attended coach Dabo Swinney's fifth annual All In Cookout, in Clemson, alongside his good friend Amari Rodgers, another wide receiver commit from the Volunteer State. Also this past month, Higgins competed among other elite 2017 recruits at Nike's The Opening, in Beaverton, Oregon.

In his junior season, Higgins reeled in 46 receptions for 841 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is listed as the No. 31 overall player for 2017, according to ESPN, and is ranked No. 40 nationally by Rivals.com. ESPN pegs him as he No. 5 wide receiver in the nation for 2017.

Higgins committed to Clemson in grand fashion on July 4, with a video released by Bleacher Report. In the video, the logos of his other top 10 schools – Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss – appear in various places during a family cookout. But as the video ends, orange and purple fireworks light the night sky and a flaming Tiger paw illuminates the water of a lake, with Higgins' family wearing Clemson apparel and saying, “We're All In.”

If Higgins is unable to recover by Aug. 18, he will miss the Oak Ridge Wildcats' season opener on the road vs. Clinton High School.