CLEMSON — When he watched Clemson football games growing up, one of the things Adam Randall liked about the Tigers were the cool t-shirts the wide receivers wore under their jerseys and pads.
Those t-shirts said, “Wide Receiver U,” a nickname former Clemson assistant Jeff Scott named the group thanks to the success of guys like Nuk Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant, Mike Williams, Hunter Renfrow and so many more.
From 2011-2020, no group of receivers in the country made as many big plays or played in the NFL as Clemson’s wide receivers. During that stretch, the Tigers produced four All-American wideouts, nine All-Conference standouts and 11 that were selected in the NFL Draft, including three in the first round.
Starting with Hopkins being picked No. 27 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, Clemson had at least one wide receiver taken in eight of the nine draft classes from 2013-’21.
“It was something I wanted to do when I was a kid,” Randall said. “It was discontinued before I got here, so I wanted to bring that element back into the room.”
Prior to the start of Spring Practice this past March, Randall made himself and his wide receiver teammates t-shirts that say “Wide Receiver U” with “Prove it” going across the bottom.
“I wanted to instill confidence into the room,” he said. “Show that I am confident in my teammates. I just want them to go out there and be ‘Wide Receiver U’ like I know that they can be. We got the players. We got the personality. We just have to go out there and do it.”
Randall admits his unit has not earned the right to own the Tigers’ “Wide Receiver U” moniker, but he feels they are about to get back there.
“I just want to prove it this season,” the junior said. “That’s all I mean by proving it. It does not matter who won last year or who won last week, we have to go prove it every single week.”
They will get their chance to prove it when the 14th-ranked Tigers kick off the season against No. 1 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Aug. 31.