Clemson Football will open the season against Duke on Labor Day Night, and all Tiger fans will be eager to see the new offense installed by coordinator Garrett Riley.
Many eyes will be on starting quarterback Cade Klubnik, but they will also be on the other end of his passes. The wide receiver group has been criticized heavily over the past two seasons.
When asked about who is expected to carry the load at receiver in 2023, head coach Dabo Swinney said Beaux Collins, Antonio Williams, Adam Randall, Cole Turner, and Brannon Spector will get the bulk of the snaps barring injury.
Another name has been getting some attention lately, and it is a small surprise.
Dabo Swinney talking now. Asked about freshman receiver Tyler Brown (Greenville native).
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) August 9, 2023
"Five days in, he’s flashed, for sure… He’s really, really fast. He and Tink (Misun Kelley) have shined well in that slot."
Swinney says Brown is further along technically than he thought.
Tyler Brown is a true freshman from Greenville, South Carolina. He is not an early enrollee. While there are few established go-to wide receivers, the assumption by many was that he would need time to develop and learn the system.
Tiger Illustrated mentioned him by name after the first practice.
Today in the first of multiple features, https://t.co/bqcUhaTXPs has additional intel to release on numerous true freshmen, including more on Greenville wide receiver Tyler Brown who has been impressive early. #Clemson https://t.co/tWj6ngMlA2
— Tigerillustrated.com (@TIinClemson) August 6, 2023
His teammate Collins mentioned Brown and fellow true freshman, Tink Kelley.
The freshman receivers that are impressing Beaux Collins the most right now -- might not be the names you expected.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) August 8, 2023
"I feel like Tyler Brown and Tink (Misun Kelley), they are kind of neck and neck right now. We’ll see, first game."
Brown again got a shout-out from TigerNet’s David Hood from yesterday’s scrimmage.
Tyler Brown had a big play today. Noble is a big bodied dude.
— David Hood (@MDavidHood) August 12, 2023
From The State’s Chapel Fowler too.
Sounding more and more like the two Clemson true freshman WRs who will see the field earliest are Tyler Brown and Misun Kelley (both out of the slot). Dabo Swinney post-scrimmage: "Brown had a big play today and Misun is just a natural football player -- kid's a baller"
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) August 12, 2023
Several people around Clemson Football have mentioned Tyler Brown
We have seen and heard Coach Swinney hype a guy in the past who doesn’t quite wow us the way he said they would. We’ve often chalked that up to Swinney building a player’s confidence publicly. There was a method to the madness.
This hype for Tyler Brown isn’t just Swinney. Other players and observers are bringing his name up a lot. Given that speed is something that has been lacking in the last couple of seasons, Brown appears poised to find playing time because he brings a dimension to the passing game that has been lacking in recent seasons.
Though not mentioned as often, Misun ‘Tink’ Kelley could find playing time too for the same reasons.
All freshmen seem to be worked into the offense slowly, so Brown might not be a focus of the Duke gameplan, but it will be interesting to see how many snaps he gets and if he is targeted.