Hunter Renfrow: Clemson and Family
Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow has continued to impress fans and coaches. Renfrow makes catches, blocks, and plays with a matured presence. The former walk-on has made such an impression that he will start along side fellow receivers Charone Peake and Artavis Scott for Saturday’s game against Boston College.
It’s so ironic that Hunter is playing football at Clemson. Or was it just meant to be? His Mom is a Clemson graduate and so are two of his older siblings. He also has plenty of family members in the upstate of South Carolina. Then there is his dad, Tim Renfrow who played defensive back for Wofford College and against the 1981 Clemson national championship team. In that game in Death Valley, Wofford lost 45-10 but Renfrow played well and intercepted a pass.
Tim Renfrow is the Athletic Director at Socastee High(SC), and he coached Hunter for three years.
I recently talked to Tim about his son, Dabo, and Clemson.
Did you have anything to do with his decision to walk-on at Clemson?
"The only advice that my wife and I gave him was just to make sure, wherever he went that he would enjoy going to school. We were going to let him make that decision. We got six kids and we are going to let all of them decide where they want to go. Our main advice to him was to go where he felt like the lord was leading him and we will be happy with whatever."
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Was Clemson the dream school for him?
"Hunter is pretty quiet and didn’t really talk about Clemson. We go to two or three games every year. I think it’s a place where he felt comfortable. I got five brothers and five sisters and a bunch of them live in the upper state, in the Clemson and Greenville area. That was the biggest thing. If he had just gone to school and not play football. There is no doubt that is where he would have gone."
Did you see Dabo’s press conference and his exception to the mention of clemsoning?
"You know Dabo said something and I think he hit the nail on the head. It just shows that a lot of those reporters are just ill-prepared because they hadn’t lost a ballgame that they were suppose to win in five years or something. Those guys have to do their homework a little better. It gets old. Dabo speaks his mind and one thing about him is that he is passionate about what he does. He put up with it and put up with it and he has got his facts together. He is tired of that(Clemsoning) and I was proud of him. I think Dabo’s a fair man and he just got tired of it."
How do you feel about Clemson and having your son play for Dabo?
"As a parent, I’ve been around a lot of football and as parents we just love the culture at Clemson. I am a Christian and I’ve been around a lot of staffs, high school and college. They just run a first class program from language to what they believe in. All kids are going to make mistakes and coaches are going to make mistakes but for them it’s not a way of life. It’s a good culture. They try to do what’s right and they are very successful at it. That’s the thing that stands out there. They are a lot of people who try to do it but they aren’t as successful as he has been. Even the players that leave Clemson, they don’t talk bad about it. And Dabo doesn’t talk bad about them-he still supports them. That’s the difference between him and a lot of people.More from Rubbing the RockClemson Football: Q&A with Florida State experts at Chop ChatClemson Tigers News: New commitments, Ian Schieffelin and Jonathan WeitzClemson Football needs their biggest stars to shine against Florida StateClemson Football: Receiver by committee could work for the TigersNo reason for Clemson Football to fear a Seminole takeover"
Renfrow made the trip to Clemson to watch his son make his first collegiate catch against his alma mater, and he was in Louisville to see his first touchdown catch and he said, “I felt good for Hunter because he has worked hard and the opportunity came for him and he jumped in there. We are proud of him.”
Now, he will get to watch him start his first game on Saturday. Tim heard about Hunter being named a starter from a daughter who was texted by someone other than Hunter. Hunter is probably taking it all in stride and remaining to be the hard working, unassuming, humble kid that he has always been.
His athleticism and humbleness are inherited from his father. Tim is in the Wofford Athletics Hall of Fame and still holds the career interception mark of 19. I asked him about the interceptions and he said, “I just had good people around me.” I talked about Hunter’s abilities and asked was it his coaching and he said, “Nah, I had nothing to do with that.”
He may be reluctant to talk about himself but he doesn’t mind expressing his happiness with Clemson’s coaches. “I’m tickled for my son to be with a group of men and Dabo is the head of it. He has some great men around him and not just great coaches.”