They starred in home state for college. Now Deebo, Renfrow among NFL’s best rookies
For years, they were on opposite sides of a bitter in-state rivalry.
So fittingly, South Carolina natives and wide receiver greats Deebo Samuel and Hunter Renfrow moved across the country and spent their rookie NFL seasons on opposite sides of another rivalry — the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders.
And while Samuel and Renfrow both redshirted their first years at USC and Clemson, respectively, they wasted no time in making an impact in the pros. Both receivers finished among the top 10 rookies in both catches and yards and were key pieces in their teams’ passing attacks.
Samuel’s season isn’t over, as the 49ers earned the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC and will compete in the divisional round on Jan. 11, while Renfow’s Raiders finished 7-9 and will now move to Las Vegas.
Here’s how each Palmetto State star’s rookie season went.
DEEBO SAMUEL
Season stats: 57 receptions for 802 receiving yards and three touchdowns, 14 rushing attempts for 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns
Best game: Week 17 vs. Seattle Seahawks, a 26-21 win in which he caught all five of his targets for 102 yards and a touchdown, in addition to rushing for 33 yards on two attempts for another score.
Highlight: It’s a tie between two great plays — on Nov. 17 against the Arizona Cardinals, Samuel tipped a ball off a defender’s helmet, then caught it while simultaneously getting hit from behind by another defensive back. Then, in Week 17 against the Seahawks, he took an end-around pitch 30 yards, delivering a nasty spin move along the way, for a touchdown.
Milestones: Outside of Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle, Samuel led San Francisco’s receiving corps in targets, receptions and yards. He finished fourth among all NFL rookies in yards and catches and broke the franchise record for receptions by a rookie. He also had the second-most receiving yards by a first-year 49er, behind only all-time great Jerry Rice.
What he said: “I’ve always been a coachable guy. Once a coach gets on you, what he’s really showing is that he cares about you and he knows what you’re capable of. He’s pushing you to be better. I take coaching well,” Samuel told The Athletic about the tough love he’s received from coach Kyle Shanahan.
“Man, it’s great, honestly. You just know what kind of ball you’re going to get. You really get the ball the same way every time — on time, not too hard to catch, kind of like a perfect ball,” Samuel said about playing with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
What his coach said: “Deebo has been a man all year. I have been so impressed with how tough he has played. The moment does not scare him. He has been real banged up the second half of the season.
“I know he was banged up all week, and for him to come out there (against the Seahawks) to do the stuff he does in the run and pass game. ... Deebo is a stud,” Shanahan said of Samuel, per NBC Sports.
What others said: “He’s fearless. Deebo Samuel is fearless. He’ll run through any catch. You get some receivers running across the middle and they’re looking for who’s going to him them. Deebo is looking for who he’s going to hit. That’s a much different mentality than most people,” teammate and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said, according to the Associated Press.
“I compare him to being like George Kittle. He catches the ball, and he’s not looking to go down. He’s looking for contact. On that reverse play where he was able to put his foot in the ground like that, and spin, it just shows that any time he touches the football, he’s thinking about scoring,” former 49er and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice said in a radio interview.
HUNTER RENFROW
Season stats: 49 receptions for 605 receiving yards and four touchdowns, five punt returns for 38 yards
Best game: Week 16 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, a 24-17 win in which he caught seven of nine targets for a season-high 107 yards, including a 56-yard gain, and a touchdown.
Highlight: Against the Houston Texans on Oct. 27, Renfrow caught a short pass, broke two tackles and took off for a 65-yard touchdown, the first of his pro career and his longest reception of the season.
Milestones: Tight end Darren Waller was the Raiders’ top receiving threat, but behind him, Renfrow was second on the team in targets and receptions and third in receiving yards. He was seventh among all rookies in receiving yards and catches and finished second in franchise history in rookie receptions. All this despite missing three games with a rib injury.
What he said: “We have a bunch of young guys that are talented. I think they’re made of the right stuff. (Defensive end Maxx Crosby) broke his hand this year. (Running back Josh Jacobs) played through injuries. Everyone’s played through injuries and everyone has just wanted to win. Moving forward I think that’s what you have to have — that grit and determination to be a good team. I’m excited about who we have and the veterans to carry us along,” Renfrow said at the end of the 7-9 season.
What his coach said: “As soon as I met him, I said, ‘You’re Hunter Renfrow? You’re that guy that beat Alabama? You’re Hunter Renfrow?’ And now everybody in the locker room is so proud of him, they all know Hunter Renfrow,” coach Jon Gruden said of Renfrow in an episode of “In the Huddle” on Raiders.com.
“He’s got great instincts. He really helped us out, not only on third down as a receiver, but as a blocker. But he’s got so much poise and, I call it, route friendliness. He doesn’t fool the quarterback. He’s very easy to read on some of these choice routes. You don’t know if he’s gonna sit down, you don’t know if he’s gonna break in or out, but he and Derek Carr have a real good rapport going, and it’s paying off for us.”
What others said: “It’s so funny. You don’t see that a lot in the NFL. Guys that catch a ball across the middle and then they outrun some people. I was like, out of all people, he’s the one that seems to do it. I met coach Swinney, Dabo Swinney … and he’s like, ‘You don’t understand sometimes some of the things that he does, but he just continues to impress you and continues to do it.’ And I’d have to say Coach Swinney was right on that,” quarterback Derek Carr, according to USA Today.
“Renfrow’s a beast. He’s a game-changer. When he’s in there, he makes things happen. Seeing him do what he does is awesome,” teammate and fellow rookie Maxx Crosby said.
