Clemson WR McCloud stronger, better prepared for grind of season

Ray-Ray McCloud’s freshman season at Clemson was a memorable one as the Tigers reached the national championship game, but it was also a grind.

The 5-foot-10 wide receiver was mentally and physically drained at times with the Tigers opening the season in early September and playing until the middle of January.

McCloud, who missed three of Clemson’s 15 games last year with a knee injury, said it was tough being ready to play almost every Saturday for nearly 4 1/2 months.

“Coming from high school, heck yes,” he said. “From a longevity aspect of it, it was long with coaches yelling at you all the time, and the closer you get there’s more yelling. They want to win, too, but it’s love at the end.”

McCloud suffered a sprained knee in Clemson’s win against Florida State and missed the next three games before rebounding to play in the ACC championship, Orange Bowl and national title game.

McCloud had 23 catches for 211 yards in the first eight games prior to being injured but managed only six catches for 40 yards in the final three contests.

He spent this offseason focusing on one thing.

“My body,” he said. “Physically being able to take hits, being able to last 15 games and stay healthy… It bothered me a little bit mentally when I got hurt. I had never been hurt before, but now I feel like I’ve got my blinders on and I’m focused.”

McCloud arrived at Clemson from Sickles High in Tampa as a highly-rated prospect after playing mostly running back in high school.

He set county records with 5,765 rushing yards and 58 total touchdowns during his high school career.

“With the ball in my hands I’m very quick. I usually make the first man miss. I bring excitement,” McCloud said. “I feel like I can do anything with the ball in my hands.”

He feels he did not live up to his potential as a freshman at Clemson but plans to be more of a playmaker as a sophomore.

“Last year I was kind of one cut and get what you can… Now I feel like I can do what I want with the ball in my hands, not stupid stuff, but I can feel comfortable without coach in my ear,” he said. “Coming in as a freshman you want to build trust. I feel like I built the coaches’ trust a lot. I just want to keep doing that and stay consistent throughout the rest of the season.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2016 at 4:53 PM.