Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow shined on college football’s brightest stage as a true freshman a season ago, recording a total of 11 receptions for 147 yards and three touchdowns in the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Oklahoma and the national championship game against Alabama.
Now preparing for his second trip to the playoff in as many years, Renfrow is living out his childhood dream again. The native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., said he grew up wanting to play in the biggest games, and hopes to make the most of another opportunity to do so when the Tigers take on Ohio State.
“I try to give my best every game. They might find me, maybe, some more in the bigger games,” Renfrow said this week. “But I grew up wanting to play in these games just like everyone else here, and it’s kind of been my dream. So, it’s a cool experience and kind of surreal that I get to. I’ll try to put on my best effort for the biggest games.”
Renfrow spoke to TCI during Clemson’s media day at the WestZone on Monday. Following is an edited transcript of his comments:
Question: Have much has the team thought and talked about returning to Arizona for the College Football Playoff after falling just short in Glendale last season?
Renfrow: “Yeah, we definitely want to celebrate in that locker room this time around instead of leaving there with a loss. And just seeing those seniors last year, that was their last game. We definitely don’t want that for our seniors this year.”
Q: How has bowl prep been so far?
Renfrow: “It’s been great. A lot of good-on-good, a lot of practicing versus Clemson. Just having fun, really. Just working on the little things in our craft, and just getting better.”
Q: What’s been the mentality of the team heading into the game?
Renfrow: “I think the big thing is we’re not overwhelmed. We’ve been in these games before. We know they’re a great team and they’re a champion for a reason, and that’s how we’re going to attack it. We know they might go up or we might come back, or we might go up and they’re going to battle back because that’s what good teams do. So, we’re just ready for a four-quarter fight.”
Q: A lot of people have criticized Deshaun for his interceptions. How many of those plays are getting overblown versus how many mistakes does Deshaun cover up by making plays?
Renfrow: “Deshaun’s a great quarterback. He’s had some tipped balls for interceptions, and he’s had some guys run wrong routes, and he’s made some bad throws. He doesn’t make them often, but he’s our quarterback and we don’t really care what people think or say. He’s our guy, and we’re going to go out there and win with him.”
Q: What’s the confidence level going into the game, knowing you have an established quarterback that played like he did against Alabama?
Renfrow: “Deshaun always plays the best whenever his best is needed, and I think that’s one of the characteristics of a great player. He gets better as the season goes along, so I feel like our offense does, too, and that’s why we’re confident.”
Q: Both teams are obviously really talented. The wide receiver corps for Clemson going up against that secondary is going to be a fun matchup to watch and I’m sure a fun matchup to play in, too. What have you seen from those guys on film, and what’s it going to take to win that matchup?
Renfrow: “Definitely physical and talented in the back end. They have some freaks back there. But we just have to do what we do. I think we have the best quarterback in the nation, so he’s going to put it where it needs to be, and we’re going to go and get it.”
Q: You know this area relatively well. How important would a national title be to the Upstate and really the entire state of South Carolina?
Renfrow: “Just growing up, even in the lower part of the state, we always talked about the 1981 national championship. We’d always hold that over our rival South Carolina’s heads, and it would just be awesome for the people and everyone involved. It would be a cool experience, and we know it’d mean so much to so many. So we’re going to go out there and work our tails off to do that.”