Stellato ready to soar now that he's free of the brace

Troy Stellato motions to the crowd after his touchdown Saturday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Oct 03 07:00:06 GMT-04:00 2023

Troy Stellato is healthy for the first time in his Clemson career, and the results are starting to show on the field.

Stellato, a redshirt sophomore out of Florida, entered this season having played just 23 career snaps, with two receptions for 15 yards. He battled injuries and redshirted the 2021 season, then missed all of 2022 while recovering from ACL surgery (knee). He battled injuries again during fall camp, and many wondered if Stellato would ever see the field.

Stellato didn’t play against Duke and then played 59 snaps over the next three games. In Saturday’s victory at Syracuse, Stellato tied his career total with 61 snaps, catching four passes for 37 yards and his first career touchdown.

For the season, he has 14 receptions for 141 yards.

“Nothing he does surprises me. I’m really proud of him, and I’m just happy for him,” Swinney said after Stellato’s play against the Orange. “The kid has been on ice for two years, and that’s really hard when you’re a great football player and highly recruited guy, and for two years, you got all these issues. So it’s really cool, and sometimes a guy just needs a little bit of success, and man, it’s just like throwing fuel on the fire. It’s been really good to see.”

Stellato dropped the knee brace a few weeks ago and is finally running free.

“It feels great. I've been here obviously two years now, and I've obviously battled through a lot of injuries. I was wearing the brace all the way up to really the second game,” Stellato said. “Just getting that off and just playing free and not having that worry about my knee or anything is great. It's a great feeling to not really have to worry about injuries, and you can go out there and play and do what you're supposed to do. So it's super encouraging. I'm just super happy to be back out there and making plays and hopefully contributing. And it's going to be a great, great year. So I'm just excited to be out there for real.”

Swinney said Stellato is taking advantage of the chance to play.

“You see it happening right before your eyes – he’s becoming what we know he is,” Swinney said of Stellato. “Ask me that in fall camp, I’d have said we’re not counting on him, he hadn’t been there (available). If Troy’s out there, it’s a bonus. But we also had Cole Turner, and now Cole’s gone and Troy has gotten healthy, and he’s just gotten better and better each week. I mean, he’s a tough kid. He’s everything we thought he was. He’s just, for the first time in his career, been available to actually play football.”

Stellato dropped a pass against Syracuse, and Swinney said that was an aberration and not the norm.

“He’s got great hands… You don’t see him drop many balls, even in practice, and he just tried to take off a little quick on the one (against Syracuse),” Swinney said. “But proud of him. He’s getting better and better. You’ve got to look at him as a freshman because he hasn’t played. So, he’s playing his way into a good role for us.”

Growing up in a football family, Stellato learned to catch when he was just six, and his dad fired bullet passes at his head.

“I’d always complain, like, ‘You’re throwing so hard — why are you throwing so hard?’” Stellato asked of his dad. His dad had the easy answer.

“The quarterback’s not going to throw the ball this hard,” was the answer. “You catch these passes, you’re gonna catch any pass your way.”

Now he finally has the chance to be the player he knows he can be.

“He’s worked his butt off, and he’s in a good spot, and now that he’s had a little bit of success if he stays available,” Swinney said. “I think you’re going to continue to see him soar. Because the kid can play.”