The TCI staff of Hale McGranahan, Will Vandervort, William Qualkinbush and Robert MacRae go Around the Horn to answer some of the questions surrounding Clemson athletics and college football.
Who will emerge as Clemson’s No. 2 receiver?
Robert MacRae – Charone Peake is the easy choice, but he has yet to show that he can be the consistent threat. Ray Ray will get more and more touches as the season progresses so he could be the answer. Of course he plays behind Scott right now so it is hard to say he will be the option.
I’ll go with Deon Cain becoming the No. 2 threat later this season. He is a big threat because of his size and ability to score any time he touches the ball. His transition from quarterback to receiver is accelerating. Cain was the target when the Tigers needed a big play Thursday night a couple of times.
The freshmen are the answer if I can cheat and give two.
Hale McGranahan – It depends on how things play out at the 9-position. Assuming Charone Peake holds on to the starting job and gets most of the snaps, it should be him.
But I’m not sure that he’s the best option the at that position. That leaves Deon Cain and Trevion Thompson.
You’ve got to think the coaches want to find one guy, and not rotate them as much as they did against Louisville.
Or maybe not.
Ultimately, I think Cain takes over the position. How soon that happens, I don’t know. Could be sooner than later. To me, he’s the best fit to play the 9.
William Qualkinbush – Because of my belief that no one on Clemson’s roster will be able to adequately replace Mike Williams in the downfield passing game, the Tigers will need to dramatically expand Artavis Scott’s role. If Scott is spending more of his time exploring the back end of the secondary, someone else will be required to take on a portion of Scott’s workload in the horizontal passing game. That someone will likely by Ray Ray McCloud, whose body type and skill set make him an asset in the screen game and on short throws. The volume of targets and catches he should attract will almost assuredly lend itself to more yards and touchdowns, so I think McCloud is the logical choice to supplement Scott among the Tigers’ receivers.
Will Vandervort: I think ultimately it will be Deon Cain. We got a sneak in the second half of the Louisville game when he hauled two passes for 26 yards. He came in for Charone Peake who was ineffective for the Tigers after catching a 12-yard pass in the second quarter, his only one in the game. I am speculating here, but don’t be surprised to see Cain play more of a role at the boundary position in the Notre Dame game. If everyone plans to play Clemson the way Louisville did with eight men in coverage then the Tigers will need someone like Cain, who I think is better at high pointing a ball, from what I saw in practice during fall camp, than Peake, and as someone who has some wiggle to him and can separate himself from a defender. With an extra week to prepare for Notre Dame, I would not be surprised if the coaches were seeing if they can get him ready to play more of a role.