Adam Randall has thrown the brace aside and feels healthy

Adam Randall makes a catch against Miami last season.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Fri Aug 25 10:06:47 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Adam Randall has thrown the brace aside and is finally feeling healthy.

Last season was not the season for wide receivers at Clemson. Freshman receiver Antonio Williams led the team in receiving with 604 yards while Joseph Ngata was second with 526 yards and tight end Davis Allen was third with 443 yards. Ngata is now playing preseason games for the Philadelphia Eagles and Allen was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. In other words, the Tigers are down two of their top three receivers from last season statistically.

This should be a little concerning to Tiger fans, except that a huge piece of the puzzle is returning from injury with Randall. Randall was a high school standout from Myrtle Beach High School, the same area as the now NFL wide receiver Hunter Renfrow. PrepStar ranked him as the No. 7 overall receiver in the country and No. 6 overall player in South Carolina.

On his high school senior night, he had the best game of his career with ten catches for 255 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, a torn ACL hampered his productivity during his freshman year at Clemson. But now that the brace is off, he is at 100 percent and able to reach his maximum potential.

“I feel like throwing the brace aside and not having that on my leg and just being able to be, made me be able to get back to my top speeds, in and out of my break faster. So, I feel like just not having that brace on my leg has really helped me a lot,” Randall said. “It’s just been a great feel, just us going out there, being competitive with each other and just making each other better and just also going against some incredibly good corners out there every single day. We just know we’re pushing each other, and I feel like every day we go out there, we’re playing the best corners and the best team in the nation.”

Part of what Randall attributes for how the team is coming together, and for improvements in his speed, is Clemson’s new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. Riley helped lead TCU to the National Championship Game last season. Now, Riley is bringing that same championship mindset to the Tigers while also teaching the players how to have fun.

“I feel like Coach Riley has really brought that mindset to the offense where we can go out and play free and just do our thing and like we’re back in high school and just go out there and make plays like the ballers that we are,” Randall said.

A successful offense requires the quarterback and receivers to be on the same page. According to Randall, this type of chemistry is currently something that he has developed already with Cade Klubnik. This seems to be enhanced by the fact that they are roommates.

“Me and Cade just are kind of on the same wavelengths. I mean, it’s been like that ever since we got in here,” Randall said. “Like I said last year, we were on the second team for really a lot, so he threw me a lot of passes, especially in the spring and even coming back in the season, we would have to go against the ones when we were on the twos. So, I just feel like him being my roommate has been probably the best decision ever since I got to college because he brings me up every single day.”

Another addition that should help the Tigers in the passing game is freshman receiver Tyler Brown. Brown is a South Carolina native, coming from Greenville. In high school, he finished his career with 148 receptions for 2,501 yards and 32 receiving touchdowns. Furthermore, ESPN ranked him as the No. 19 overall player in South Carolina.

“He’s just a really fast guy. He can get up and down the field. He can really just move,” Randall said of Brown. “I just love the way he brings a good mindset to the room. Our wide receiver room is just very positive, and every time you go in there, you’re going to crack a smile within a couple of seconds.”

The first action this receiving group will have will be when the Tigers take on Duke on Monday, September 4 (8 p.m./ESPN). Duke had one of the worst passing defenses in the country last season, allowing an average of 257.3 passing yards per game and 25 passing touchdowns. Thus, it could be a good matchup for the passing game to get going.