Troy Stellato
Stellato technically doesn’t fit into the original criteria I specified at the beginning of this list (juniors or redshirt sophomores). Stellato will be a redshirt junior in 2024.
I am including him here because his resume is different than most redshirt juniors. Stellato didn’t have any significant playing time during his first two seasons with Clemson due to injuries. As I have written before, I had written Stellato off when he was dinged up in fall camp. I didn’t think he would ever contribute to the program on the field.
After missing the opener against Duke, Stellato began to surprise a lot of Clemson fans when he turned out to be a competent wide receiver. Not just competent, but confident. He caught passes over the middle. He caught passes while being covered.
With the exit of Beaux Collins, it is expected that Antonio Williams and Tyler Brown will be starters. One will stay in the slot, the other will likely move outside.
Two highly-rated freshmen are entering the program: Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore. They could challenge for a starting spot if they acclimate quickly.
If they don’t, the other options are a returning Cole Turner, Adam Randall, or Stellato. Based on 2023, one would presume that Stellato gets that spot if he stays healthy.
Stellato’s statistics aren’t eye-popping, but he also didn’t really play with Cade Klubnik until the Charleston Southern game. He was injured at every point before that when Klubnik was taking the reps at quarterback.
If Stellato gets a full spring and a full fall taking starting reps with Klubnik, we could see a jump in his performance in 2024. Time will tell whether all those pieces fall into place. After all, Stellato has only been healthy and available for about 30% of the first three seasons he has been with the program.
Next: Wade Woodaz