Ray-Ray McCloud stands out in Clemson spring practice
Ray-Ray McCloud’s role on Clemson’s football team has progressively diminished over the course of the past two seasons.
As a freshman in 2015, McCloud caught eight passes for 80 yards in his debut game against Wofford. He appeared on the verge of being a breakout star for the Clemson offense, but that didn’t materialize, as he caught only 21 passes for 171 yards the rest of the year.
McCloud had a very strong start to the 2016 season. In a trio of September games against Troy, South Carolina State and Georgia Tech, McCloud totaled 19 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns and nine punt returns for 169 yards. After that, his role faded again. In Clemson’s final 11 games, McCloud had only 28 receptions for 217 yards and only 12 punt returns for seven yards.
It’s possible that could happen again in 2017, as Clemson will have a multitude of young receivers trying to earn away McCloud’s playing time.
So far this spring, however, McCloud has cemented his standing as one of Clemson’s top receivers.
“I’m probably most pleased with Ray-Ray offensively,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “It’s like the light’s kind of come on for him a little bit, as far as his work ethic, his practice habits. He’s grinding out there, and I love that. Love, love, love what I’m seeing out of Ray-Ray.”
Co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Jeff Scott said McCloud has had “by far his best semester of practices.”
“His focus has been really good, his work ethic has been really good,” Scott said. “He’s been one of the most consistent players on the offense.”
McCloud says he has started to approach football like it is his profession.
“Coming out every day with a mentality that I’m one of the best in the country,” McCloud said. “If you don’t feel like you’re the best and you’re not confident, you’re not going to perform well. And every day in the weight room, every day in practice, I come trying to push it to the limit and becoming a better leader.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Ray-Ray McCloud stands out in Clemson spring practice."