Player Spotlight: Hunter Renfrow
Some of the best feel-good stories in college football every year is about the walk-ons, the players that take a chance on themselves and try out for the football team with sights to making waves on a top team in the country. For the Clemson Tigers, walk-ons dream of playing under the lights in Death Valley, with the chance of suiting up and taking the field on a fall Clemson, South Carolina night. With plenty achieving this dream in one way or another, one became one of the greatest in Clemson history, joining the greats in the Tigers’ notorious WRU along the way. Despite playing quarterback in high school, Hunter Renfrow became one of the best stories across Clemson football’s historical timeline, earning himself an NFL draft pick to follow his dream.
Taking a Chance on Hunter Renfrow
A two-star recruit from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Renfrow started his journey as a quarterback, being highlighted for his dual-threat skills to be a potential collegiate player. The future Clemson stand-out always had an eye for the Tigers but was never offered by head coach Dabo Swinney. Instead, he was given four offers by local schools: Gardner-Webb, Wofford, Presbyterian, and Appalachian State. Renfrow also received offers to play baseball at smaller schools, being the No. 6 outfielder in South Carolina by Diamond Prospects. Despite all this, he put the opportunity and money aside to enroll at Clemson University and attempt to walk on as a wide receiver in 2015.
Throughout the try-out process, Renfrow shined through his strong work ethic and ability to be coachable, which allowed him to join the squad in his freshman year in 2014. Despite not receiving any snaps in his freshman year, he redshirted at the end of the season, giving him another year of eligibility at the end of his senior year. Throughout this first year for Renfrow, he gained 21 pounds and hoped to use his smaller 5-foot-10 frame to be a solid slot-receiving option in his second year as a Tiger.
Breaking Through
In his second entire season with the Tigers, the soon-to-be standout began to make waves on the depth chart.
Renfrow began his redshirt-freshman season quietly, picking up few amounts of catches in each game alongside quarterback Deshaun Watson. It wasn’t until Clemson’s third game of the season against Lousiville that the walk-on would find his first iconic Clemson moment. Renfrow, in the slot, was able to find space in the middle of the field for Watson to find him wide open, and after running a few more yards to the goal line, Renfrow would have his first touchdown in a Clemson uniform.
The receiver continued to have a quiet season, having a season-high 93 yards and another touchdown against NC State to continue great production. It was not until the postseason that the college football world began to learn the name of Hunter Renfrow. In the College Football Playoff semi-final against the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners, Watson would find the redshirt freshman in the third quarter, hitting Renfrow on an out route and finding space to give Clemson a comfortable lead. The shining moment of his second year came against Alabama in the championship, scoring two first-quarter touchdowns against the Tide to give Clemson an early lead in the 2016 CFP championship.
Despite the eventual loss, Renfrow became a key squad member for the next three years, and it was only the start.
The Catch that Defies the Odds
In his third season, the Clemson standout fought some adversity, sitting out four games from a broken hand off a touchdown catch, but continued to make key plays when it mattered. Renfrow had 29 catches for 353 yards in 2016, adding four touchdowns in the regular season. But it was when the postseason came around that the receiver had his moment.
Renfrow had Alabama’s number, having another breakout game in the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2017. This time, it was in the second half when the redshirt sophomore would explode. In the third quarter, Watson found his man in the middle of the field, and Renfrow was able to escape incoming Tide defenders to score his first touchdown of the game. His next, arguably one of the most influential in Clemson football history, was his iconic touchdown catch with one-second remaining to give the Tigers the go-ahead score and end Clemson’s championship drought.
He would finish with ten receptions for 92 yards, grabbing two scores as well in one of the best performances in Clemson postseason history. The world knew the name of Hunter Renfrow, and he still had two more years of eligibility with the Tigers.
The last two seasons with the Tigers for Renfrow were equally as great, with 60 catches with 602 yards in the 2017-2018 season, having three touchdowns including his highlight reel touchdown run against South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl.
A Legacy Cemented
In his final season with the Tigers, Renfrow finished his Clemson career as one of the all-time greats and was an inspiration to many. With 49 catches for 544 yards and one more touchdown in his fifth year with the squad, the former walk-on was awarded the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the best collegiate athlete who began his career as a walk-on. In the 2018-2019 season, he was given his old job back for a bit, playing quarterback in the final snaps of Clemson’s rout over Wake Forest and laying a key block for a late Tiger touchdown.
The Clemson star finished his career in the best way possible as well, earning himself another championship as Clemson won their second national championship in three years in 2019. With his final year done, he was off to the 2019 NFL Draft, where the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas) noticed his road to the top and his work ethic, selecting him in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
With many Clemson wide receivers in the 2010s that made waves in the college football world, Hunter Renfrow is yet another who found success with the Tigers, with his story of getting there being incredibly inspirational.
