Finalizing Clemson's WR Recruiting

Clemson recruited several long and athletic wide receivers during the past three seasons. What the Tigers did not seek were slot wide receivers. This will likely be the year that Clemson adds the final touch to an already outstanding young wide receiver core.

Clemson recruited several long and athletic wide receivers during the past three seasons. What the Tigers did not seek were slot wide receivers. This will likely be the year that Clemson adds the final touch to an already outstanding young wide receiver core.

This past February cemented another excellent Clemson recruiting class. It included wide receiver recruits E.J. Williams from Phenix City (Ala.) Central, and Ajou Ajou from Clearwater (Fla.) Clearwater Academy International. Both players were highly coveted prospects, and both shared another key trait.

Williams and Ajou are 6-3. That sort of height is something Clemson almost always seeks with its wide receivers, at least during the past three recruiting campaigns. Not since Amari Rodgers came to Clemson from Knoxville (Tenn.) Knoxville Catholic did the Tigers sign a player that truly fits the slot wide receiver roll. Rodgers is 5-10.

What Rodgers could do in the slot was move the chains, make the occasional big play in the screen game, and give defensive coordinators fits in general because he’s so quick.

Rodgers rolled up 85 receptions and eight touchdowns from the past two seasons combined. More importantly, defensive coordinators really did not possess an answer for covering Rodgers in the slot. If you play a cornerback over the slot, i.e. Rodgers, that opened up better opportunities for Clemson to run the football.

Travis Etienne often produced even better results with smaller defenders on the field becuase he is a tackle-breaking machine to begin with. Not many nickel backs match up well with Etienne. That’s the nature of Clemson’s personnel, placing defenses in a bind. The 2021 recruiting class could be the next class to place another player in that situation, with two elite slot players coming from Florida as options.

One of the fastest rising prospects in the country would be Troy Stellato out of Fort Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons). As his film below will demonstrate, he’s a lightning bolt on the football field. Only listed at 6-0, 175, but he can make moves like a running back, and he possesses really good hands as well.

http://www.hudl.com/v/2CGke8

Truth be known, Stellato is one of the best players in the country, regardless of position. His so-called recruiting rankings improved during the past six months, but his offer sheet that includes Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Georgia, Penn State and Oregon provides a who’s who of college football programs. Make no mistake, Stellato is an absolutely elite wide receiver. Those offers do not lie. His value holds from the fact that he can play two positions.

Stellato could play outside or in the slot. He’s strong enough to defeat press coverage against many cornerbacks, and he’s going to improve strength once he’s developed in a college weight program. Playing outside, any wide receiver needs to be able to defeat press coverage. As for his recruitment, it’s hard to say. Two teams do appear to be at or near the top, however.

Ohio State and Clemson. Those are the two schools to watch. Clemson has one advantage over Ohio State, and that would be Stellato did not yet take an unofficial visit to Clemson this spring. He did visit last fall when Clemson hosted Wake Forest. He trekked to Ohio State last fall. His busy 7-on-7 schedule has prevented him from taking that many unofficial visits this spring.

Stellato will likely head out West to visit schools during spring break. Clemson needs to get him on campus again, but this is a great player that the Tigers will go after ardently. Stellato is not the only slot wide receiver the Tigers would love to land.

From all of the Florida prospects I have personally watched within the class of 2021, none of them competes harder than Mario Williams. The 5-10, 180-pound speed demon absolutely dominates against the best players. He’s the truth.

During a particular game last fall, Williams lit up the scoreboard three times...in the first half. It was against a Division I cornerback with an SEC offer on the table. That’s how a player earns respect. Here’s a look at Williams’ film.

Like Stellato, Williams can terrorize defenses on the outside or in the slot. For Plant City, he’s also taken direct snaps and made big plays when there did not appear to be anything available. Williams is a special talent.

Williams recently visited Clemson for its junior day. He’s not a player to tip his hand about where he’s going, but Oklahoma was previously his leader. That was before quarterback recruit Brock Vandergriff decommitted from the Sooners and selected Georgia.

In addition to Oklahoma, Clemson, Georgia, Texas, LSU, and Alabama get mentioned quite a bit with Williams, but this recruitment could play out until next February. It’s hard to say.

With all of Clemson’s length, it would make sense to complement those big wide receivers with speed and athleticism like Stellato or Williams. Perhaps Clemson ends up with a different third wide receiver option, and that will be the topic of discussion this Friday.

You can find me on Twitter @fbscout_florida