Former Clemson wide receiver explains transfer decision: ‘I just wanted to win’
Beaux Collins had something specific in mind when he hit the portal.
The wide receiver was coming off a career year with Clemson, catching 38 passes for 510 yards and three touchdowns during the Tigers’ 2023 season.
But production didn’t matter at his next school, he said. That’s ultimately why he traded in his orange and white for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s blue and gold.
“I just wanted to win, man,” Collins said Friday at the 2025 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “That was the biggest thing. I’m a team-first guy, you know? I could have went anywhere to get the stats and all that, but I want to win the national championship.”
He came as close as any other player in the country. Notre Dame was the No. 7 seed in this year’s 12-team College Football Playoff but won three consecutive elimination games against Indiana, Georgia and Penn State to reach the national title.
Collins and the Fighting Irish trailed Ohio State 31-7 before rallying late, with Collins catching the fourth-quarter two-point conversion pass to make it 31-23 Ohio State (a one-possession game) with 4:15 remaining in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
The Fighting Irish ultimately lost 34-23. Collins, in his lone season at Notre Dame, finished with 41 catches for 490 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.
“Being able to play a season that was that long, being able to make it to the national championship, not a lot of guys, got to be able to experience that,” Collins said from Indianapolis. “I’m just appreciative of the opportunity.”
Beaux Collins’ career
Collins (6-foot-3, 206 pounds) was among the Tigers’ most prominent transfers following a 9-4 season in 2023, their first time dropping below 10 wins in a season under coach Dabo Swinney since 2010.
A former four-star recruit from California, Collins was also the rare starting player to leave Clemson via the portal — the Tigers hadn’t had any first-teamer do that before Collins and safety Andrew Mukuba (Texas) left the team two years ago.
Collins finished his Clemson career with 91 catches for 1,290 yards and 11 touchdowns in 32 games (27 starts) for Tigers teams that went 10-3, 11-3 and 9-4, respectively. Clemson did not make the CFP during Collins’ three years.
Collins saw a dip in production at Notre Dame in 2024 but raved about his one year in South Bend, Indiana working with coach Marcus Freeman, quarterback Riley Leonard and others as the school nearly won its first national title since 1988.
“I chose Notre Dame for the people,” Collins said. “It was kind of a no-brainer, just to go there and compete with guys that love football just as much as I do.”
Collins spoken highly of Swinney as recently last fall and indicated again Friday he has nothing against his former school. Collins said he’s appreciated the chance to catch up with some of his old Clemson teammates this week.
“My guys Marcus Tate, Phil Mafah, Jake Briningstool, Barrett Carter, all those dudes, man,” Collins said. “I stay in touch with a few (Clemson) coaches as well.”
Collins was one of 40-plus receivers to get an NFL Combine invite but will not participate in any drill work as he recovers from a lingering calf injury, saving his on-field testing for Notre Dame’s on-campus pro day later this spring.
The website NFL.com rates Collins as a 5.67 out of 10 on its “prospect grade” scale, which equates to “a candidate for bottom of roster or practice squad.”
Mukuba, who played his last season at Texas and wound up facing Clemson in the CFP, is rated as a 6.23 out of 10 (“will eventually be average starter”).
Outside of those two Clemson transfers, there are six Tigers from the 2024 roster competing in the NFL Combine this year: LB Barrett Carter, S R.J. Mickens, DL Payton Page, RB Phil Mafah, TE Jake Briningstool and OL Marcus Tate.
The Charlotte Observer’s Alex Zietlow contributed reporting.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
