For years, Clemson had built up a reputation for producing some of the best wide receivers in college football. To the point that Dabo Swinney’s program was often referred to as “Wide Receiver U.”

In recent years, though, the room has not produced at the level many were accustomed to, and for a myriad of reasons. Some of the bigger recruits signed in the past just didn’t pan out as expected, along with injuries ravaging the room across multiple seasons.

Heading into the upcoming season, there is a different feel around this group of wide receivers. Antonio Williams is back for his senior campaign. Former five-stars TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco both now have a year of experience under their belts. Tyler Brown is back and fully healthy after missing pretty much all of last season, plus Cole Turner also returns.

“We are in a much different place than we have been, really in the last couple of years,” Swinney said during the ACC Kickoff. “Because we have six guys that really can start. Hopefully, we can have… we call it two waves of terror.”

That sixth man Swinney is referring to is Tristan Smith, who was signed out of the portal last December. Standing 6-foot-5, Smith looks to be a significant addition, giving quarterback Cade Klubnik one more weapon in what should be an explosive passing attack.

Last season at SE Missouri State, Smith recorded 76 receptions for 934 yards with six touchdown catches. While he likely won’t produce those kinds of numbers for the Tigers due to the depth, if the spring game is any indication, he will be a valuable asset.

“We needed to go get a depth guy and we did,” Swinney said. “We went and got Tristan Smith and somebody was asking me about him the other day, and I said, ‘Well, we went into the spring with five starters and came out with six.'”

Having that kind of depth certainly presents a unique challenge of trying to keep everyone happy when it comes to opportunities to get on the field, but it’s a good problem to have. You would certainly rather have the quality depth than not.

There is also a chemistry in place that hasn’t existed in recent years. Outside of Smith, each of those other five wideouts has at least one year of experience playing with Klubnik. That’s something that should pay dividends, and Swinney is hoping to see it early on.

“We have confidence in all of these guys, I really do. All six,” Swinney said. “It is a really, really good group and again, they have all played together now. With Tristan coming in in the spring and being able to get some chemistry with Cade. That was very important too. We haven’t had this situation in a while. Hopefully, we will hit the ground running with a little more precision earlier in the season.”