Grisham 'really pleased' with development of his wide receivers this spring

Adam Randall has been impressive this spring.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Mar 29 12:20:59 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham knows that his group is under the microscope this spring after a 2021 season filled with inconsistency, drops, and injuries. So far, he likes what he sees.

By the time the end of the season rolled around, the Tigers were starting longtime holder Will Swinney at one of the wide receiver spots, along with Dacari Collins and Beaux Collins. On the shelf were Frank Ladson (who would later transfer), Joseph Ngata, Justyn Ross and EJ Williams, while freshman Troy Stellato battled his own injury problems and played sparingly.

Williams is recovering from surgery, Ross has headed to the NFL, and Stellato is once again trying to make his way back from injury, but Grisham said his group has impressed this spring.

"The guys are flying around making plays. I'm really pleased,” Grisham said after Monday’s practice. “Offensively with some of the new concepts that we have, I think there's an excitement from the guys. They're excited to be out here making plays.

"I think in the last scrimmage we had 11 big plays. We did some good things and bad things, but man we're making some big plays downfield."

That includes Ngata, who is pushing through minor injuries in the hopes of putting together his best season.

"This is the most technically sound he's been. I'm not having to correct nearly as much. That's great for your boundary receiver,” Grisham said of Ngata. “This is his last go-around, his last shot. And he knows that. You have to be able to play well when you're not 100 percent."

Grisham also said that while freshman Adam Randall has been impressive, some of his big plays have come against non-starters.

"Everyone is saying awesome things about him, but some of those big plays have come against walk-ons,” Grisham said. “He's going to help us. He's going to play early. Let's stay committed because he's got to get a lot better.

"Adam is a big joker. And sometimes he runs around the field like a big joker and he gets tired. He knows that too."

Grisham hopes the new attitude leads to bigger plays.

"Yeah, there was a shortage of like every area last year. We know that,” Grisham said. “But man, we have the guys. And we're seeing that out here this spring. I think they're hungry to getting back to that, making those downfield plays, having fun and scoring touchdowns. That's what a receiver loves to do."

New offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter is also tweaking the passing game, adding some areas of the field that haven’t been attacked as much as in the past.

"With Brandon Streeter taking over, he has to call the plays he believes in,” Grisham said. “So taking some concepts last year and tweaking them. And also totally new concepts we've never ran before where we are attacking areas of the field we've never attacked before... as often as, I should say.

"It's also more simple in some ways where guys don't have to think as much, which is good because we can play fast with the athletes we have."