It’s only been two practices, and the hardest days of fall camp lay ahead, but through the first two days freshmen wide receivers Ray Ray McCloud and Deon Cain have stood out like a sore thumb.
On Tuesday, it was McCloud who shined, while on Wednesday Deon Cain took center stage. Besides making a one-handed catch that would have made Nuk Hopkins proud, the true freshman blew past a defender on a long scoring pass, burned cornerback Marcus Edmonds on a skinny post, which would have gone for a score in a game, and then later on he found himself on the field with the first-team offense, while hauling in a pass from quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“He has done fine. They have all looked good,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
Cain and McCloud were not the only freshmen that were making an impression of the coaching staff on Wednesday. Freshmen defensive end Clelin Ferrell looked impressive coming off the edge while cornerback Mark Fields broke up a couple of passes as well as fellow defensive back Van Smith.
Kelly Bryant, who was taking first- and second-team reps on Wednesday, looked comfortable when throwing from the pocket.
“You are going to have a hard time finding a better looking group of freshmen,” Swinney said. “They all have a lot to learn and this time of year, it is very different than the spring. In the spring you have a lot of installation and things like that, but it is kind of country club because you only practice every other day or so.
“Once you get into the camp, it is heavy installation, lots of meetings and the practice is fast and it is every day. It piles up on those young guys pretty quick. We will push them and pull them through that, but overall through the first two days, our execution with the guys that I expect to help us has been pretty good.”
But Swinney wants to keep his freshmen grounded, too. When asked about Cain’s afternoon, the Clemson coach said, “The first guy (asked about) is Deon. That is the problem with recruiting right there. He certainly is pretty easy to see with his skill set.”
Cain and McCloud are not the only two freshmen receivers who have been impressive in camp thus far. Redshirt freshman Trevion Thompson has been catching everything thrown his way, including another long touchdown pass during seven-on-seven drills on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, he stretched out to haul in a touchdown pass.
“The best guy out there is Trevion Thompson. He has been tremendous,” Swinney said. “This kid is going to be a great player for us.”
Swinney says Thompson has worked really hard since last season and has completely transformed his body from where he was at this time last year.
“He just did not know what he was doing. When you don’t know what you are doing, you don’t have confidence and when you don’t have confidence, you play slow and that is when you stand on the sideline,” the Clemson coach said. “He spent a year of doing that, and that is when he figured out, okay that is not what I came here to do.”
Thompson is an example of guy who had to learn how to practice before he could play. And though some of the true freshmen have been impressive at different times in the first two days of practice, they still have a lot to learn in the next 28 days.
“The biggest thing is guys are learning how to practice,” Swinney said. “We have a lot of new people. Then there are the guys that have been around here, they are reinforcing the habits we believe in, having good practice habits that hold up in a game environment. It is kind of us making sure we are all on the same page and demanding that we make sure things are done the right way.”
As for Cain and McCloud so far, Swinney said, “They are exactly what we thought they were.
“They are natural football players. But again, they have a lot to learn. Those guys are not trustworthy after two days. There is a whole lot of stuff that goes with it, but there is no question that we hit on them as far as what we expect and hope they will be.”