By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort.

Jordan Leggett just shook his head a little bit last week when a reporter asked him why his spring performances the last two years have not transferred over to the fall.

“I don’t know what happens,” the junior said.

Leggett has all the skills to be one of the best tight ends in the ACC. At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, he is big enough to set the edge in running plays, while also staying in and helping the tackles against good edge rushers.

His biggest asset is his speed, where he is fast enough to run past a safety and become a viable target for the quarterback down the seam.

Clemson has had tight ends like Leggett in the past in Michael Palmer, Dwayne Allen and Brandon Ford. They were all First Team All-ACC tight ends because they were the complete package.

“He is as talented as anybody that has come through here at that position,” said co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. “Now it is about having a complete game. That is what Dwayne Allen had.

“Dwayne Allen had the complete game and that is why you are seeing him having success on Sundays. That position is so hard to fill and it is a pivotal position in football.”

After a string of All-ACC seasons under Palmer, Allen and Ford from 2008-2012, Clemson has gone the last two seasons with little production from the tight ends.  Leggett totaled just 12 catches for 176 yards and two scores as a freshman, while his sophomore season saw him catch 14 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown.

It hasn’t helped in each of his first two seasons Leggett has had to deal with knee issues. He sprained his left knee in 2013 and missed three games because of it, and then last year he sprained it again and missed another game.

He also dislocated his right knee cap in bowl prep for the Russell Athletic Bowl and had to have surgery to repair the damage. He did not play in the Tigers’ 40-6 win over Oklahoma.

“There has definitely been some adversity and it does suck,” Leggett said. “Whenever you get hurt, it just puts you back, when normally you are so far ahead. I have been through it twice so far and whenever you do get hurt, you have to work twice as hard to get back. That’s what I have been doing.

“Now that I’m healthy, I’m just trying to be good to go.”

Leggett is extra cautious and is wearing an extra knee brace in practice on his left knee, though he doesn’t need it. It’s understandable, though. Due to suspensions and injuries, Clemson is down to just two tight ends the rest of the spring.

Redshirt freshman Cannon Smith is the other. Milan Richard and Stanton Seckinger are out while nursing injuries and Jay Jay McCullough is still suspended from any team activities.

“This is teaching me to work hard in tough situations,” Leggett said. “It’s teaching me if I’m tired, I can still go full speed and stuff like that.”

It’s teaching Leggett to work hard, be dependable and be accountable. In other words, he is shredding his self-proclaimed “The Lazy Leggett” label from his freshmen year.

“It’s his opportunity,” Elliott said. “He has to step up and be a leader. He is just not a leader in (the tight end) room, but he has to be a leader on this football team. That has created a sense of urgency for him to go out and lead and perform consistently.”

In other words, being a star in the spring is no longer going to get it done. Now it’s time to shine in the fall when it matters the most.

“Jordan is not scared of competition and he knows (Richard and Smith) are capable of beating him out. But more for him, it is just that internal battle of saying, “I want to be the best.” It is one thing to say it, now go out and achieve it and put in the work,” Elliott said. “Now he sees an opportunity to do that, but he also knows everybody is counting on him.”