It’s Beaux time for Clemson freshman receiver making most of uptick in playing time
On the third play of Clemson’s opening drive Saturday against Louisville, the Tigers ran Beaux Collins’ favorite play: the home run post route.
“We got (Justyn Ross) coming in, motioning in and an off corner, so it was wide open for me,” he said.
Collins created enough separation from his defender downfield so that when Tigers quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei ripped the pass, the freshman was in position to make the 46-yard touchdown grab. Right after, he pointed to his left wrist — the indication that it’s “Beaux time.”
“I kind of picked up that phrase the last couple of weeks,” he said. “Guys around the facility have been saying it. It just felt like it’s my time to shine now.”
In addition to the touchdown grab, Collins had a career day by recording his first-ever collegiate 100-yard receiving game, finishing with 104 yards. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for a Clemson true freshman since Ross had 153 receiving yards against Alabama in the 2018 season’s national championship game.
“For him to go out there and play the way he did Saturday, I wasn’t surprised because we’d seen it all week in practice and we’d seen it the entire year in practice,” Clemson tight end Davis Allen said. “For that to come to light was fun to see and I think he’s just going to continue to get better and better. By the time he leaves here, he’s going to be a great leader and he’s going to be a huge problem for people.”
Collins making his first collegiate touchdown catch while running the home run route was almost nostalgic. He and Uiagalelei ran a similar play as teammates at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California that often came with similar results.
Aside from a little more humidity and lack of authentic street tacos in the South, not much has changed since Collins’ and Uiagalelei’s time together in Southern California. During the offseason, they still work out together at a training facility called STARS, run by Chris Flores. Now in college, they’re building on to an already-established chemistry after one year of being apart.
While Collins wasn’t expecting to get this much playing time in his first season — he’s appeared in seven games — some injuries allowed the South Central, California native to play more and now start. Capitalizing and making the most of the opportunities to make “Beaux time” a real thing, however, is purely on him, especially at a new position.
Moving to the slot
Collins has always played outside receiver. Going inside the offensive formation to the slot position has been a change, but one he’s handled well considering he’s wanted to play there since he was in high school. At the time, though, the Braves opted to put smaller, shiftier players in the slot, similar to what the Tigers had in current NFL players Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers.
Collins’ 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame created mismatches, allowing him to be dominant for Bosco in the field and boundary positions. As a junior, he averaged 24.6 yards per reception for a total of 1,008 yards and 14 TDs. He would’ve been a three-year starter, but California moved the high school football season to the spring of 2021 and Collins opted to enroll early at Clemson.
“I didn’t feel like I missed out on too much except for the good memories of a senior year,” he said. “Just being able to get ahead on my development in college was more important to me at the moment.”
That development has allowed him to replace the injured Joseph Ngata (foot) in the Tigers’ starting lineup. Collins playing the starting slot receiver role came as a surprise to his high school coach, Jason Negro, because he’d never played the position. The way the freshman has distinguished himself, however, is no surprise at all.
Seeing the potential
Negro knew Collins had high-level potential when he was playing for Bosco’s eighth-grade 7-on-7 team. Collins at that age had no problem making explosive plays and quickly stood out. Five years later, he’s working toward doing that in multiple positions on the field.
“I think that’s one of the most interesting things about what he’s doing right now, which is really impressive, is showing his versatility,” Negro said. “I just think that that goes to his credit for him to be able to learn that position. Clemson’s done a good job of preparing him and getting him ready to go. Beaux’s a student of the game. He’s incredibly cerebral, so he takes the right mental approach.
“He doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of what you’d have in a slot receiver, and that’s what’s most impressive about him being able to do it.”
It also doesn’t hurt to have your high school quarterback being the one who’s throwing you the ball. After Collins transferred to Bosco from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California as a sophomore, he remembers being excited to play with Uiagalelei — while also thinking about how hard the quarterback threw the ball. Being in practice together for the first time was a surreal moment for him.
“I heard how good he was,” Collins said. “Being able to catch from him for the first time was amazing.”
Uiagalelei, too, had heard of Collins and saw highlights of him as an eighth-grader. The one thing that stood out was how polished Collins was in his route running. He didn’t get as much playing time right away due to a loaded receiving group, but eventually found his way onto the field more often by the end of his sophomore year.
For Uiagalelei, who refers to his teammate as “Showtime Beaux,” a highlight of the 2018 season was when Collins ran a slant route for a 71-yard touchdown in Bosco’s 56-10 rout of Oaks Christian during the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs.
“He took a slant route to the house and broke the defense,” Uiagalelei said, almost sounding like he was still in disbelief three years later. “I think that was the first time I realized how good he was going to be and how special he was.”
Beaux time
Collins’ maturity and ability to quickly find his way on the field has continued in college.
He made his first start against Pitt on Oct. 23 and will get at least two more starts with Ngata out, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced Sunday night. The Tigers play UConn at noon this Saturday at Memorial Stadium and wrap up their home slate next weekend against Wake Forest.
With three games left in the season, Collins is the team’s third-leading receiver with 201 yards on 17 catches. While he may not be a smaller, stereotypical slot receiver like Renfrow, Tigers offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said the two do have something in common.
“A lot of people focus on Hunter Renfrow but Hunter Renfrow had it up here,” Elliott said, pointing to his head. “It was all understanding. It was angles, it was timing, it was how to set defenders. Beaux has a lot of that, so he came in well-equipped with the nuances of the position that give him the ability to be very versatile and play in the slot or in the boundary, wherever we need him.”
