Clemson wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud certainly wishes he could have avoided a knee injury that interrupted his freshman season in 2015, of course.

However, in retrospect, McCloud believes the injury made him a better, more complete player.

Before suffering a knee sprain against Florida State on Nov. 7, McCloud caught 23 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown over Clemson’s first eight games of the season. He also carried the ball five times for 39 yards.

McCloud, a dynamic player with the ball in his hands, made his mark in Clemson’s offense mostly on screens, short passes and jet sweeps.

But after watching Clemson’s receivers while on the sidelines, McCloud said he learned a lot about his technique as a pass catcher, especially on deep balls.

Now, thanks in part to the injury, McCloud feels he has become a more well-rounded receiver who can be more than just a weapon in the short game.

“I’m not glad I got hurt, but when I got hurt I had to focus on my technique more, and it made me a better player when I got healthy,” McCloud said after Clemson’s final scrimmage of the preseason on Thursday. “That’s what I think elevated my deep ball a lot more.

“The deep ball is technique, and that’s what I had to work on.”

In practice, McCloud has worked hard to develop chemistry with Deshaun Watson, Nick Schuessler and Kelly Bryant. He’s made it a point to communicate with the quarterbacks so the timing and rhythm on deep balls is there.

“I’ve been talking with the quarterbacks and letting them know what I’m doing, what I’m going to be thinking when I run this deep ball,” McCloud said. “That’s sort of been my main focus this fall camp.”

McCloud has earned praise from the coaching staff for his performance in fall practice. Clemson co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Jeff Scott said he has “seen a big change” in McCloud, and that McCloud is one of the players he’s been most pleased with.

“He is a lot more mature than last year,” Scott said earlier in fall camp. “I have seen a big difference in him. What I have seen in the meeting room, the way I heard he worked this summer, the way he worked this spring, I’m seeing that translate into his success on the practice field.”

When McCloud committed to Clemson in February 2015, Auburn was one of the schools he passed up.

McCloud is close friends with several Auburn players, such as fellow Florida natives Byron Cowart and Ryan Davis.

All of that makes McCloud even more excited to suit up against Auburn in the two teams’ season opener at Jordan-Hare stadium on Sept. 3.

“It’s going to be very exciting because I have a lot of friends down there,” McCloud said. “Two boys that I grew up with, Byron Cowart and Ryan Davis, I talked to them a couple weeks ago.

“It’s going to be very exciting.”