Clemson dreams to hit its goals

On their new team-shirts, it says “New Team. Same Dream.” But that does not mean the Clemson Tigers goal this year is to win the national championship for a second straight year.

“That is not our dream,” wide receiver Hunter Renfrow said. “Our dream is to hit our goals and follow our commandments as a team. If we do that day-by-day, then we will eventually reach the national championship.”

That’s the message Clemson’s junior wide receiver is also preaching to the Tigers’ new and talented freshman receivers, Amari Rodgers and Tee Higgins. It’s easy for a freshman to come in and think he is coming to a great school and a great program, but it is a totally different story to understand the culture and how the program was able to win the national championship in 2016 and play for it in each of the last two years.

“I have been there,” Renfrow said. “I was not highly recruited as them, but I was here … I was talking to somebody the other day about being over at Jervey Meadows my freshman year with Daniel (Rodriguez) and Adam Humphries, and being able to learn behind them, and now I am able to share a little wisdom with Tee and Amari and Will (Swinney).”

Renfrow and all the receivers are still adjusting to catching passes from three quarterbacks right now as the Tigers try to settle the quarterback competition between Kelly Bryant, Zerrick Cooper and Hunter Johnson in camp. Though he admits it was little weird at first not catching passes from Deshaun Watson, Renfrow said, “This isn’t our first practice running out with them. We spent the whole spring practice with them. We worked out this whole summer together so we are just kind of picking up where we left off from the summer.”

Renfrow said it does not matter who is throwing them the football because “our job as a receiver is to get open. If we don’t get open, it does not matter if Tom Brady is throwing it to us we are not going to be able to catch it so our job is to get open and whoever they throw out there is who we are going to go with.”

So far, Renfrow says Bryant is doing a “great job” leading the offense, but Cooper and Johnson bring something different to the table as well.

“Each one is talented and that is why they are here,” he said. “We will see how they progress in camp.”

 

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