CLEMSON – Sometimes, you just need to simplify things.

That could mean excluding a few ingredients from a complicated online recipe or breaking down a workout to some basic steps.

It could mean remembering a math formula using a visual aid or taking a shorter route on a long drive.

In former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown’s rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, simplifying things meant dissecting a long-winded play call with a singular point of his index finger. 

When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger brought the offense together before a play, he would list off extensive bits of information, telling players where they needed to line up and what play was being run. Once Brown, who went on to four first-team All-Pro selections, got his assignment, he would point to his spot, determined not to get lost in gridiron word-salad.

“I was with Antonio Brown in Pittsburgh and I remember him as a (rookie),” said Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham. “He’d listen to the formation and then Antonio would point to the left and then he’d listen to the rest of the play, and then he’d know what to do. He’s like, ‘Okay, yeah, I gotta go left.’

“It’s just so much to remember. He would point to the right to remind himself when I break this huddle, I’m running right. You know, like just whatever it took for him to remember the play.” 

The strategy worked. Brown finished his career as the Steelers’ all-time leader in receptions and receiving touchdowns, and even set a single-game record of 284 receiving yards. Grisham, a former four-year letterman for the Tigers, was also on the team’s practice squad in Brown’s second season, in which he exploded onto the national scene with 1,108 receiving yards. 

By year two, Brown probably had a better understanding of what was being asked of him in each play.

Eventually, the pair went their separate ways. Brown completed 12 professional seasons and Grisham progressed through Clemson’s coaching staff as a graduate assistant, offensive analyst and now as the wide receivers coach. 

Sixteen years after watching Brown gesture to his spot in an attempt to break down a complicated play call, Grisham sees some similarities with Clemson’s intricate offense under new offensive coordinator Chad Morris. 

“I think this offense is very similar,” Grisham said. “You’re going to have to listen. And we signal a lot. We have a very easy one-signal, tempo and plays, but we also are going to have the longer play call to get what you want accomplished. So, it’s going to take a lot more of our guys to understand, ‘Hey, listen, if I want to be on that field, I better know what to do and I better be valuable enough to where I can play multiple positions.’”

Upon Morris’ arrival this January, the former head coach told media members that he intended to run a “two-back, run-oriented, play action shot” offense in his second stint with the Tigers. Additionally, he expects the Tigers to take at least three deep passes of 25-yards or more in each quarter.

This means that the wide receivers always need to know their assignments and have solid communication with the quarterback, even if that means needing to extend the occasional pointer finger.

“I’m excited because I mean, we’re going to throw the ball down the field, right?” Grisham said. “I mean, we’re going to establish the run, some great play action shot opportunities. That was one of my studies I did this summer and so I’m excited because our guys experienced it this spring, what we’re going to be about, and yeah they’re ready to go make it happen.”

The Tigers receiving core will return several noteworthy veterans, including third-year players Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore, as well as fourth-year guy Tyler Brown. Clemson will also add a trio of highly-touted first-year wideouts in Naeem Burroughs, Gordon Sellars and Connor Salmin.

In the new offense however, everyone will be a rookie, just like Brown was back in Pittsburgh.

The Tigers will get their first chance to showcase their receiver talents in Morris’ new offense on Sept. 5, when Clemson heads to Baton Rouge, La., to open its season against LSU.