Clemson Receivers on Record Pace

by Press Release - Mon Sep 27 00:12:18 GMT-04:00 1999

Clemson Dominates ACC Receiving Leaders

Clemson has three of the top four receivers in the ACC according to the latest league stats. It is safe to say that Clemson has never had three of the top four pass catchers in the league at any time in any season. Rod Gardner leads the ACC and ranks fifth in the country in receptions per game with an 8.7 figure. Brian Wofford is third in the ACC with a 6.7 figure, while Mal Lawyer is fourth wih 4.7 catches per game. Only All-American and Heisman Trophy Candidate Peter Warrick of Florida State prohibits Clemson from a clean sweep of the top three places in the league. Warrick has averaged 7.5 receptions per contest.

Two Tigers in Top 25 in Nation in Receiving

One of the greatest examples of Clemson's improvement in the passing games is the existence of two Tiger players among the top 25 pass receivers in the nation. Both Rod Gardner (5th) and Brian Wofford (23rd ) are listed in the top 25 in the nation on a receptions per game basis. Clemson has had just five players since 1951 rank in the final top 25 of the nation's pass receivers.

Gardner is fifth in the nation in receptions with 8.7 per game. He has 26 receptions for 271 yards so far this season. He is on pace to catch 95 passes for 994 yards for the season, figures that would be Clemson records for a season. Wofford has 20 receptions in three games for 233 yards. He is on pace to catch 73 passes for the season. The Clemson record for receptions in a season is 70 by Tony Horne in 1997. Thus, both Gardner and Wofford are on pace to break Horne's record.

Clemson is one of just three teams nationally to have two players ranked in the top 25 in the nation in receptions per game. Louisville and Tulane are the other two. Of course, Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden came to Clemson from the Green Wave program.

Gardner and Wofford are both gaining yards on those catches. Gardner is 34th inthe nation in receptions yards per game with a 90.3 figure, while Wofford is 47th with 77.7 yards per game.

Here is a list of Clemson players who have ranked in the final top 25 in the nation in receiving:

Year Player Rec/G Rk

1951 Glenn Smith *35 19th

1953 Dreher Gaskin *22 21st

1978 Jerry Butler 4.9 10th

1980 Perry Tuttle 4.8 13th

1997 Tony Horne 6.2 14th

*Receivers ranked on total receptions