Peake says Clemson's opener is game he is looking forward to

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Jun 27 17:34:04 GMT-04:00 2011

Wide receiver Charone Peake Charone Peake
Wide Receiver
# 6-4, 210
Roebuck, SC
View Full Profile has looked at Clemson’s 2011 football schedule, and he sees all of the big games.

He sees Auburn in Death Valley in the third week of the season, followed by Florida St. and then a road trip to Virginia Tech.

But they don’t matter to him at this point, because there is only one game on the schedule that he thinks about, and he thinks about it each and every day.

“That first game against Troy is the one I am most looking forward to,” Peake told TigerNet Monday afternoon. “That will be my first college game, and that is the only game that matters right now. That will be my first time riding around the stadium on the bus, and my first time running down the hill. I am sure there will be chills all over my body.”

The former Dorman star caught 41 passes for 694 yards a year ago and is one of the jewels of the 2011 recruiting class. He will be on campus to begin school next week, and he is slated to room with fellow wide receivers Sammy WatkinsSammy Watkins
Wide Receiver
# 6-2, 200
Fort Myers, FL
View Full Profile and Martavis BryantMartavis Bryant
Wide Receiver
# 6-4, 195
Anderson, SC
View Full Profile and running back Mike BellamyMike Bellamy
Running Back
# 5-10, 187
Punta Gorda, FL
View Full Profile .

“We haven’t really had a chance to get together and talk about rooming together yet,” Peake said. “But I am looking forward to it, and I hope it will let us be really close.”

Peake said he wants to play and make an impact this season, but he also understands he has a lot of work ahead of him if he truly wants to make a difference.

“I have been working out really hard, and I feel like I have a good chance to do some good things this season,” he said. “But they already have some guys there that have been there for years, and they have experience. Experience is better than anything. But I know I have things to work on. I think I should catch every ball that comes my way. I can do a lot of different things – I can use my height (6-3), but I am also fast enough to go by guys.”

New offensive coordinator Chad Morris sat down with Peake and went over his offense, and Peake said he thinks he can be successful in Morris’ fast-paced attack.

“I talked to him a lot the week after I went there for my visit and I talked to him a lot on my official visit,” he said. “We went through everything with the offense. It has a lot of deep balls, and it has all kinds of different routes that are hard to guard.

“It is really good to have height as a receiver, because it’s easy for a quarterback that’s under pressure to overthrow somebody. But when you have receivers that are tall, they can catch those passes. And now we have a lot of great receivers coming into the program. I think we can be really dominant and explosive.”

Even though school starts next week, and he will be moving into his new living quarters, all he can think about is that opening game.

“That is what I am ready for,” he said. “I am ready for practice to start so I can go to work every day. I have a scholarship, so I don’t care about the heat or being tired. That is my job, and that is what I am supposed to be doing. You can’t quit on it.”