Tyler Grisham had his first opportunity to address what he’s seen/heard regarding Clemson’s true freshman wideouts and was able to provide some early returns on those players when speaking with reporters last week.

Clemson’s wide receivers coach held court during last Tuesday’s media outing. He was candid as he provided an outlook of the current state and future of his position group. 

Grisham stays true to his philosophy of having receivers work out at multiple positions. He wants to develop his wideouts and leave them better than he found them.

“I think for me as a coach, I want to equip these guys with tools to be successful here, but also at the next level,” Grisham said. “At wide receiver, if you just know one position, you’re hurting yourself and you’re hurting your team and so you have to see the big picture conceptually.”

Normally, Clemson isn’t asking freshmen to play multiple wide receiver positions. 

That’s what makes Beaux Collins and Dacari Collins special. 

“Dacari and Beaux they came here in the spring and they played two positions,” Grisham said. “Normally as a freshman, you put them in and you say, ‘hey learn this position,’ and then it all kind of makes sense for you.”

Because of how versatile both Beaux and Dacari looked throughout the spring, Grisham elected to switch them around and have them play multiple wide receiver positions. That’s allowed for Beaux to get some work in the slot over the summer.

“They’ve been able to play two positions already,” Grisham said, “And to do that, it takes understanding the concept. That’s the NFL. If you can understand the concept, you can get on the field and play. That’s what I want the guys to understand: to help us, to help them out, but also to be thinking about their futures in the NFL.”

They both came in this spring expecting to learn one position and halfway through the spring, Grisham elected to flip the script. Neither missed a beat.

The Tigers have so many guys in Grisham’s room that can play multiple positions all over the field, which will certainly help lead to some wins and aid Clemson and D.J. Uiagalelei in the long run. 

It certainly doesn’t hurt that true freshmen like Beaux and Dacari are getting a taste of what Clemson expects out of its receivers before the start of fall camp. They’re seemingly already ahead of the curve, which could help both of them see the field early on in their respective rookie campaigns.

“Having seen them this spring, we’re excited about them,” Grisham said. “We feel like they can contribute this season. What I love about both of them is that they’re versatile.”

While Troy Stellato just got to Clemson, the true freshman receiver out of Fort Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons High School is already making some waves in the weight room.

Grisham hasn’t been able to see Stellato first-hand, everything is word of mouth until the start of fall camp. Still, the returns have been impressive and he’ll be able to compete to see the field early on.

“From what I’ve heard in the weight room, he’s just a freak athlete,” Grisham said. “He’s gonna remind you of [redshirt sophomore receiver] Brannon Spector a little bit. They’re built somewhat similar in stature.

“He loves the weight room. He’s a weight room junkie. Very explosive, athletic, grinder. Those are the kind of things you want in a receiver. He’s confident too. Just talking to him, he’s excited. He feels like he can help us. He’ll get that chance. Everybody get out there and show us what you got and have fun doing it. Excited to add him to the group.”

Grisham stressed the importance of being prepared in the wide receiver room, especially because Clemson can play all nine guys.

“We’ll play whoever deserves it, we’ll play those guys,” he said, “And Coach Swinney’s great at that. We average more players per game than anybody in the country. We play our guys. We play our freshmen.”

His answer wasn’t directed to anybody in particular, but there’s an opportunity to be had for Beaux, Dacari and Stellato to see the field early on.

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