Friday Top 10--Top 10 Clemson WRs

May 10, 2019, 11:23 AM

To facilitate some discussion on an off-season Friday, here are my Top 10 Clemson WRs. Who'd I miss?

NOTE: This is based on college production, not NFL production as that would warrant some significant reshuffling.

10. Artavis Scott
245 Receptions (1st All Time)
2,480 Receiving Yards (7th All Time)
19 Receiving TDs (6th All Time)
2 ACC Championships
1 National Title
NFL Free Agent Contract

Scott might not immediately come to mind as an all-timer at Clemson but he's the all-time leader in Receptions in Clemson history, was a gritty YAC-er, and always dependable for a gutsy play when we needed it. Who can forget his 2 jet sweep TDs against USuCk in 2014? Or his epic KR against Louisville in 2016 that helped spark the Clemson comeback (and eventual National Title) in one of the greatest games ever played at DV (at 5:49)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x01VIc4BsaA

https://youtu.be/e3tUgEFePN4?t=349

9. Derrick Hamilton
163 Receptions (7th All Time)
2,218 Receiving Yards (9th All Time)
Freshman AA
3rd Round Draft Pick

Hamilton was a great WR and KR who might be all-time top 5 if he had stayed one more season. Instead he jumped ship to the NFL where he quickly and disappointingly flamed out despite enormous potential. I can still see him running free behind the FSU secondary on that long TD pass from Whitehurst in 2003 (at 7:03 in this video--sorry for the quality this is the only clip I can find of that play).

https://youtu.be/mSew2mFE4A0?t=423

8. Perry Tuttle
150 Receptions (10th All Time)
2,534 Receiving Yards (6th All Time)
17 Receiving TDs (9th All Time)
2 ACC Championships
All-American
1 National Championship
1st Round Draft Pick

Tuttle was immortalized on the cover of Sports Illustrated following his TD in the '81 National Title Game. He's still top 10 in all the receiving categories despite playing in less pass-oriented offenses.

7. Hunter Renfrow
186 Receptions (5th All Time)
All-ACC
4 ACC Championships
2 National Championships
5th Round Draft Pick

What can I write about the Legend Hunter Renfrow that hasn't already been written? He doesn't have the TD or receiving yard stats of these other guys but I can't recall a more dependable WR in Clemson history. From walk-on, to Natty-winning-TD, to the NFL, he's the man.

https://youtu.be/2IVRNumSofg

6. Jerry Butler
2,159 Receiving Yards (10th All Time)
1 ACC Championship
All-American
1st Round Draft Pick

Butler's NFL career was overshadowed by his Clemson teammate Dwight Clark but he was by far the more productive college player and still, even some 40 years after he left Tiger Town, is all over the record books. He will forever be immortalized for "The Catch" against the Gamecocks in 1977.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC5x2zzT58g

5. Aaron Kelly
232 Receptions (3rd All Time)
2,733 Receiving Yards (3rd All Time)
20 Receiving TDs (4th All Time)
All-ACC
NFL Free Agent Contract

Kelly doesn't have the cache these other guys have and you may have forgotten about him but in his 4 years, he was THE guy and is still top 5 in every category. He was #1 in every category when he left, being surpassed only by the guys below. He also single-handedly got us into FG range for the game-winner against the Gamecocks in the 2007 game (sweet redemption following his dropped TD against BC the week before).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vnwloFpAJM

4. Mike Williams
177 Receptions (6th All Time)
2,727 Receiving Yards (4th All Time)
21 Receiving TDs (3rd All Time)
All-ACC
2 ACC Championships
1 National Championship
1st Round Draft Pick

Williams was one of the gutsiest WRs we've ever had in terms of his ability to fight for a catch. He was unstoppable in the National Championship game despite being blanketed by Bama's All-World DBs and was instrumental in that epic final TD drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylv90iOGR08

3. Rod Gardner
159 Receptions (9th All Time)
2,404 Receiving Yards (8th All Time)
All-ACC
All-American
Biletnikoff Finalist
1st Round Draft Pick

Gardner arguably started the lineage of #WRU. While we'd had some great ones before him, he was the first I can remember getting a lot of exposure on a national level. He will, of course, be remembered for "The Catch II" against the Gamecocks in the 2000 game that put the Tigers in a position to kick the game-winning FG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sv8YN7nOV4

2. Nuk Hopkins
206 Receptions (4th All Time)
3,020 Receiving Yards (2nd All Time)
27 Receiving TDs (Tied 1st All Time)
All-ACC
1 ACC Championship
1st Round Draft Pick

Hopkins is the guttiest WR in Clemson history. If the ball was ever put anywhere near him, he was going to come down with it. He's does own the single-season TD record of 18 that beats out the next-best by a staggering 6 TDs. If I were to rank based on total production in college and NFL, Nuk would be #1 by a mile. He'll be immortalized forever for his last game in a Clemson uniform against LSU in 2012, posting 13 catches, 191 yards, and 2 TDs, including the epic 4th and 16 catch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx4nJ3QkjIQ

1. Sammy Watkins
240 Receptions (2nd All Time)
3,391 Receiving Yards (1st All Time)
27 Receiving TDs (Tied 1st All Time)
1 ACC Championship
ACC Offensive ROY
2x All-ACC
2x All-American
1st Round Draft Pick

It's crazy to think that both he and Nuk played together at the same time. It's really splitting hairs between 1 and 2 at this point but for my money, Watkins was the greatest. He is one of 4 true freshman in CFB history to be named 1st Team All-American by the AP (Herschel Walker, Marshall Faulk, and Adrian Peterson) Like Nuk, he put on an epic performance in his final game against OSU in the Orange Bowl, catching 16 balls for 227 yards and 2 TDs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUsEuhW1MUA