By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

The development of a football player can vary between individuals. For every DeAndre Hopkins, there is a Charone Peake.

Hopkins was a quick learner, excelling right out of the gate as a freshman. The former Clemson wide receiver hauled in 52 passes his freshman year for 637 yards, while totaling four touchdowns. By his junior season, Hopkins became one of the best receivers in the country, catching 82 passes for a school-record 1,405 yards in 2012, while setting an ACC record with 18 touchdowns.

Peake’s progression has been much slower. Some of that is due to his own personal growth as a player, while the other is the fact he played behind arguably Clemson’s greatest receiver of all-time the last two years.

Then there is Sammy Watkins, who came to Clemson at the same time as Peake and set the country on fire, while earning the reputation as one of the nation’s most explosive players.

“They have done a lot for Clemson,” Peake said. “They have set a standard here, but I have to be my own man and work on my craft to become a great player.”

There is little doubt Peake has the tools to be every bit as good as Hopkins and Watkins. He has had his moments, like the big third-down catch against Auburn in 2011 that led to a touchdown and sparked Clemson’s comeback from a 14-point deficit.

“I’m not really worried about what people think of me. I’m just trying to be myself,” he said.

Peake is as fast as Watkins, but possesses hands that are similar to Hopkins.

“Here is a young guy that was learning the system as a freshman coming in,” offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “In his first year, he was trying to find the ropes and get a gauge on things. He was limited. He had a limited role.

“There were times that he looked great and other times he was kind of up and down and a little inconsistent. But, I thought his confidence level was better this past year than in his freshman year.”

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior says his confidence “is going up” with each practice and every time he makes a play.

“I feel I’m good when I get the ball in my hands,” Peake said. “I’m one of those quick guys. I’m not like Nuk with those 4-X hands, but I feel like I can catch it pretty good.”

Last year, Peake caught 25 passes for 172 yards and scored two touchdowns.

“Obviously, we are trying to put our best on the field,” Morris said. “Charone has had some really good (practices) and we are going to continue to push him and keep him going.

“There is no doubt he has a lot of talent, but we are going to try and get him in those situations and have him make some plays this spring.”

With Watkins already out there to make plays, and Peake growing stronger and more confident with each practice, he can give Clemson the opportunity to once again have to two dynamic wide receivers on the field at the same time.

“I will bring a little bit more speed on the field,” Peake said. “I just add that with Sammy’s. He is already fast so when I’m on the field with him, it will add extra speed and that will give defenses a hard time.”