Clemson Football: Five things we learned about the Tigers at Duke

The wide receivers haven’t progressed

Coach Swinney told us in the preseason that if Antonio Williams, Beaux Collins, Adam Randall, Cole Turner, and Brannon Spector were healthy, then this team was going to score a lot of points.

Unless there is something he isn’t telling us, that statement just isn’t true. Williams had seven catches for 56 yards. Collins had five catches for 50 yards. Neither amount is bad, and if they had three or four more receivers bring in similar numbers – spreading the ball around the way we heard they would – this offense would have looked more like what fans were expecting. That didn’t happen and doesn’t seem likely to happen.

If the Tigers can’t count on that many pass catchers to have similar games, then they need one or two to elevate their games to become elite and carry the offense. As much as we might hope Williams or Collins can elevate to that level, it just doesn’t seem likely either.

I’m optimistic about Tyler Brown, but he is just a true freshman, and at best he will likely be on a similar curve to Williams in 2022 with regards to how quickly he can assert himself and how quickly the staff will trust him.

As a group, the receivers haven’t progressed. If anything, as a group, they have regressed from where they were in last season’s ACC championship game.