With each new season, fans continue to search for the next big star at the receiver position like Clemson legends DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, and Mike Williams. With the recent seasons of offensive struggles, Clemson hopes to find its next WR1 next to quarterback Cade Klubnik to try to reestablish the “Wide Receiver U” status from the 2010s. However, with plenty of talent in the Clemson receiver room this upcoming season, the wait for the next big star could be over very soon.
Sophomore Antonio Williams headlines this group of young receivers, who led the Tigers in receiving yards last season as a freshman. The standout had 56 receptions for 604 yards in his first season as a Tiger, scoring four touchdowns as well. He received All-American honors from many sports media panels, being the perfect option for Klubnik in his first full season as Clemson’s signal-caller.
A smaller receiver, being 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, the sophomore uses his elusiveness to get around defenders, finding pockets of space to make outstanding catches to move the chains or score touchdowns.
With all eyes on Williams in his second season with the Tigers, including a new offensive coordinator in Garrett Riley, Williams is bound to have an incredible season and has a chance of being one of the best receivers in the country.
Another sophomore, Adam Randall is another promising receiver that could play a much larger role with the Tigers in 2023. Standing at 6-foot-2, Randall uses his size and strength to provide a deep-threat option for Riley and the Clemson offense.
In his freshman year, he caught ten passes for 128 yards, with 44 of those being in Clemson’s final game against Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, showing that head coach Dabo Swinney has plans for him this season.
Another young receiver who caught fire towards the end of the season was Cole Turner, who will look to be an X-factor in his second season with the Tigers. The redshirt freshman turned heads in the ACC Championship, his second game in a Tiger uniform, with 103 receiving yards and a touchdown.
As one of Cade Klubnik’s first reliable options in his first few games as a starter for the Tigers, don’t be surprised if Will Turner ends up playing a much bigger role than expected as a wideout this season.
However, the Tigers welcome plenty of talent in this year’s freshman class, who have the potential to be the next stars and legends in Death Valley. Headlining this class are Noble Johnson and Ronan Hanafin, who are both incoming four-star recruits according to 247Sports. Both have the frame of being a lethal deep-threat option on the offense with both being 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds.
With former Tiger Joseph Ngata leaving Clemson for the NFL Draft, the two incoming freshmen could help fill the void of a big receiver like Ngata, using their frame to make big plays down the field to shift momentum and rekindle a recently dormant offense.
Overall, Swinney and Riley have an incredible amount of talent at the wide receiver position, and it will certainly be interesting to see who starts at the beginning of the season and how the Air Raid offense affects the receivers’ production. One thing is for certain, however: Cade Klubnik has plenty of star power to help this offense thrive.
