Clemson Players, Coaches Alike Believe This WR is Due for Big Year

While the Clemson Tigers’ season in 2023 wasn’t executed to its full plan, there was one player who stood out immensely among the group: receiver Tyler Brown.

As a freshman, led the team in receiving yards and receptions but was set back by an ankle injury in 2024, only playing in six games to activate his redshirt.

Now, Brown is back on a vengeance, and many players and coaches have seen it. Of these people, quarterback Cade Klubnik is noticing large strides in the Greenville native. 

“He looks electric right now, he looks unbelievable,” Klubnik said on ACC Huddle. “He looked great.”

In 2023, the Tigers had a similar issue with another freshman standout, Antonio Williams, who suffered from various ankle and foot injuries. He decided to redshirt and came back recording the most receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns on the unit. 

It allowed Brown to lean on the standout for advice, and Williams told him to work on his mentality since he couldn’t play physically. 

“Just to find that hunger and passion for the game, because when you’re out, it does take a toll on your mental,” Williams said at ACC Kickoff. “You just have to stay strong and try to get back as fast as you can and still find ways to get better, even if you can’t play.”

Wide receiver coach Tyler Grisham has worked closely with Brown this offseason and sees a hunger to make the world remember him. When Grisham asked other receivers to rank the room, many put Brown closer to the top than others had thought. 

“I think he’s hungry,” Grisham said. “It’s like some people have forgotten about him, so I think he’s trying to get back and reintroduce himself.” 

The team is now seeing it, and the media is picking up on it, with an ESPN article calling Brown a “sleeper” on the Clemson offense. Williams recalls a day in the spring where the receiver continued to make plays the whole practice, getting the idea that Brown will be a force to be reckoned with. 

“During spring, there was one day where he was just making lots of plays, lots of contested catches,” Williams said. “You could see that fire and passion that he had just to be back out there.”

It helps offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who, with an Air Raid offense, will look to play fast and use more receivers than a traditional offense. With a standout room that includes five or more receivers, it helps the health and speed of the room. 

“What that does is that it allows you to be more fresh throughout the game, so you’re strong in the fourth quarter, when it really counts, to finish,” Riley said. “From a big picture standpoint, being fresh as much as you can throughout the season, so that’s what we have a chance to do with that group and that’s my expectation with that group.”

The injuries are in the past for Brown, and although it was a year of growing his mental health, he’s ready to follow Williams’s path into a standout third season. 

“Injuries suck, and the way that he persevered reminds me so much of Antonio [Williams] from his sophomore year to last year, just the way that he overcame it,” Klubnik said. “Both had Freshman All-American type years, injured as a sophomore, and let’s go junior year, so I see that for him and I’m so excited for him.”

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