With wide receiver Mike Williams out for an indefinite about of time with a small fracture in his neck, No. 12 Clemson will be looking for someone to step up and fill in the gap left vacated by Williams.

One of those players will be Germone Hopper. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior will be the Tigers’ new starter in the slot position as senior Charone Peake moves to the boundary to start in the place of Williams.

“He has had a good camp and he did fine the other day,” Swinney said of Hopper following practice on Wednesday. “He made a couple of good plays.”

But Swinney wants to see more good plays from the Charlotte, N.C. native. Hopper had two receptions for 27 yards in last week’s win over Wofford, including a 25-yard gain which set up Tyshon Dye’s one-yard touchdown to make the score 28-0 in the second quarter.

Last year, Hopper had 27 receptions for 331 yards and three touchdowns. He had two long touchdowns against North Carolina, and then a diving 24-yard grab against Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. But those plays were few and far between, and Swinney says he wants to see more of those plays on a consistent basis from his speedy wideout.

“The biggest thing is he has to be more of an every-down player,” the Clemson coach said. “That is the biggest thing. Instead of a ‘pick our spot player,’ he needs to be an every-down guy.”

Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. kick in Death Valley against Appalachian State will mark Hopper’s fifth career start. It has been a rollercoaster ride with the junior wide receiver the first three years, but Swinney says he is a tough individual that has worked through his immaturity and has grown up to become a reliable player for them.

“He’s tough. We don’t have a tougher kid on the team than GHop,” Swinney said. “He is passionate about it. He has grown up. He really has so he is one of the guys that have to step up for us and play big, and I expect him to.”

Norton, Seckinger are looking good for Saturday. Wednesday morning Swinney announced tight end Stanton Seckinger will play against Appalachian State on the ACC coaches teleconference. Following practice Wednesday evening, he said center Ryan Norton practiced all day.

“Ryan was fine all day. He kind of came out there right at the end so hopefully he is still okay,” Swinney said. “He practiced all day so I don’t know if he was just a little sore or what. I did not get a chance to talk to him because he came out right at the end so hopefully he is okay, but he practiced all day.”

Norton, who hurt his knee early in the second quarter against Wofford, left practice riding in the team-tram with the rest of teammates over to the WestZone. He appeared to be okay. The Clemson center was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game earlier in the week.

McCullough is finally out of the dog house. Swinney reported earlier this week tight end Jay Jay McCullough will play against Appalachian State, ending a five-game suspension that dates back to last year’s Georgia Tech game.

“He is out of the dog house,” Swinney said.

McCullough was suspended indefinitely from the team the last four games of last season and into the spring, but he was reinstated the last half of spring practice. Swinney announced during camp the junior owed him a little more discipline concerning some academic issues that dated back to the spring.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end served his suspension in the season opener.

“He earned his way in (the dog house) but he has earned his way out,” Swinney said. “I’m happy for him. His attitude has been good. He has worked really hard and I’m excited to see him get back out there.”

Register out. Defensive end Chris Register will not play in the Appalachian State game. Swinney said he is still being bothered by a nagging shoulder injury.

“He is still not ready,” Swinney said. “We are taking our time with him. We are trying to really strengthen his (trapezius) up. He still has a little bit of pain when he does some benching and stuff so he is not ready.

“We are hoping for the open date with him as far as reevaluating and seeing where he is at that point. He is not ready to play.”