During his media availability Wednesday evening ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Virginia Tech, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave an update on the progress of the Tigers’ freshmen wide receivers.

Swinney is pleased with the development thus far from freshmen wideouts Naeem Burroughs, Cam Blivens and Connor Salmin.

“Just young guys that are super talented, and getting better,” Swinney said.

Swinney especially praised Burroughs, noting that he is coming around after a tough start.

Swinney said Burroughs struggled earlier with practicing hard, playing fast, and mental errors, but has picked things up over the past couple of weeks.

The dynamic 5-foot-11, 185-pounder made his Clemson debut in the season opener at LSU and then caught two passes for 19 yards with a 6-yard rush in last Saturday’s game vs. Charleston Southern.

Burroughs, a former consensus four-star prospect, was ranked as high as the No. 43 overall prospect in the country by Rivals, which touted him as the eighth-best receiver in his recruiting class.

A product of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., Burroughs exceeded 650 all-purpose yards in all four years of his high school career, including reaching the 1,110-yard mark in each of his last three seasons. He was also a two-time track state champion in the 4×100 relay.

“The guy I’m probably most excited about, just the past probably couple weeks, is Naeem,” Swinney said. “He’s just a guy that just honestly didn’t practice hard, didn’t play fast. A lot of mistakes, a lot of mental errors. Did not have a great spring or fall camp. He’s super talented, but I think just learning how to practice with the type of intensity and the speed – because he’s a fast guy, but it just took him a little while to kind of get it going.

“But I will say, the last couple weeks, he’s been a guy – that’s why you’ve seen us kind of get him in there and try to get him involved. He’s figuring it out, from how you have to practice, the speed you have to play at, to be able to get better with the techniques and fundamentals that you’ve got to have on gameday.”

 Swinney also had high praise for Blivens, a former three-star prospect who was initially committed to Columbia before decommitting last December and then committing to Clemson in January.

A multi-sport standout who was also a Division I basketball prospect and all-state high jumper, Blivens tallied 1,086 yards on 63 receptions as a senior at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tenn. He was credited with 14 total touchdowns, including two passing touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns. He recorded 1,317 yards of total offense and was a Division II-AAA first-team all-state and all-region honoree.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder hauled in a 9-yard reception in his college debut vs. Charleston Southern.

“Cam Blivens has been outstanding,” Swinney said. “He’s a kid that had a great camp for us. … He’s a kid that’s going to help us at some point and has been really ready to play. He’s progressed.”

Meanwhile, Salmin is “getting better” as he works on the scout team, according to Swinney, who said the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder would have redshirted under the older college football structure.  

Salmin spent his first three prep seasons at Woodgrove in Purcellville, Va. before playing his senior season at Bullis School in Potomac, Md. The former consensus four-star prospect made an instant impact in his lone season at Bullis, earning first-team IAC and IAC Offensive Player of the Year honors while recording 57 receptions for 1,013 yards with 14 receiving touchdowns.

Salmin made his college debut vs. Charleston Southern.

“Connor is a guy, if redshirt was still a thing, he’d be redshirting,” Swinney said. “He’s on the scout team. He’s working. He’s getting better. Just needs time to develop.”

Swinney also gave a shoutout to another young wide receiver, Juju Preston.

Preston is a sophomore, not a freshman, but Swinney is excited about his future.

Preston – who was credited with 185 receptions for 3,700 yards and 67 touchdowns during his prep career, and is the all-time receiving touchdown leader in Virginia state history — has caught six passes for 41 yards while playing in all six games so far this season. He had one reception for 4 yards in two game appearances last year.

“The light has come on for him,” Swinney said of Preston, “and he’s going to be a really good player around here for a while.”