Clemson wide receivers should focus on wins, not statistics

Clemson wide receivers coach Jeff Scott will have to juggle playing time for perhaps the most talented group of wide receivers in the country this season. Fortunately for him, he’s had some practice.

The Tigers’ unit in 2016 appears to be loaded with playmakers looking to follow in the footsteps of Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Martavis Bryant, Jaron Brown and Adam Humphries – former Clemson standouts currently playing in the NFL.

“I don’t think it’s any different than what we’ve had the past five or six years,” Scott said. “We’ve not been in a position where we’ve had one or two top guys. For the last five or six years, we’ve had six, seven, eight guys who have played.”

With only one football to go around, Artavis Scott, Mike Williams, Deon Cain, Hunter Renfrow and Ray-Ray McCloud, who are expected to be Deshaun Watson’s top targets, can’t get caught up in who gets the most balls thrown their way as Clemson attempts to return to the national championship game.

“There are only three on the field at a time, and we try to be balanced. We’re going to throw it half the time and run it half the time. Those guys are going to have to be unselfish and focus on the big picture of winning football games, and not caring who gets the success,” co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said.

Watkins, Hopkins, Bryant, Brown and Humphries were all on the 2012 team, and Scott said they prided themselves on not worrying about who put up stats or got the most targets.

He added there’s a picture up in the wide receivers room of Watkins running into the end zone and Hopkins trailing right behind him with a big smile on his face.

“That picture kind of captures the attitude that we want in our room, and that we’ve had in our room with guys that are very unselfish,” Scott said. “There are a lot of games and we’re trying to get a lot of plays. The ball’s going to spread out. Guys just have to be patient.”

Having too many guys deserving of playing time is a good problem to have as it allows the Tigers to stay fresh throughout the game, particularly in the fourth quarter when defenses might begin to wear down.

Scott said the goal is for the first unit of receivers to play 50-55 plays and the second group to play 25-30.

“We always joke most defenses have one-and-a-half corners that they trust. The point of that is they’re not going to be rotating the guys in the secondary, especially at the corner position,” Scott said. “We kind of look at it as a heavyweight boxing match, and we want to be our strongest at the end. Being able to have that depth and being able to roll guys in throughout the game keeps us our strongest at the end.”

Elliott pointed out that just because you don’t start or put up big numbers, doesn’t mean you can’t make the NFL. He cited running back Zac Brooks as someone who didn’t get a lot of opportunities during his career, but made the most of the ones he did. Brooks was fourth on the team in rushing attempts in 2015 with 41, but was still drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

“Put your best foot forward and don’t get caught up in what everybody outside of the program is talking about, statistics and catches and this and that. Go be a part of a championship team, so that you’re associated with that for the rest of your life,” Elliott said. “I think at the end of the day, people are going to judge you on where you came from and what your body of work is as opposed to a statistical number.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Clemson wide receivers should focus on wins, not statistics."