Clemson Tigers Safety Looking to Continue to Prove Himself

When Clemson Tigers safety Ronan Hanafin heard he would be the starting safety Week 1 against LSU, he was finally able to see the fruits of his work begin to pay off. 

While he played good enough of a game to be credited positively by head coach Dabo Swinney, it's not stopping Hanafin from achieving his weekly goals. 

“It means a lot,” Hanafin said on Tuesday. “Coach Swinney, he’s not pulling smoke if he says something, you've got to listen to it, so it’s good to hear that honestly. But, it’s a new week and I’ve got to prove myself again this week.”

The Burlington, Massachusetts native committed to Clemson as a wide receiver, being surrounded by quarterbacks in both his home life and his school life. His father, Dan, was the final quarterback to play football at Boston University. His brother, Shane, is a redshirt junior at Boston College and plays quarterback. 

Hanafin said that he always grew up being his brother’s receiver, but he also liked the physicality of safety, making the switch to safety in 2024. 

“I just liked catching it, and my brother threw it to me,” he said, “so I liked doing that stuf, and obviously I’ve always liked hitting people, so safety comes naturally, I guess.”

Not to mention that Hanafin’s college roommate is quarterback Cade Klubnik, who sees the senior quarterback in his everyday life. Despite the loss against LSU, the safety said they are used to seeing great offenses in practices, led by his roommate. 

“They are a great team,” Hanafin said. “[Garrett] Nussmeier’s obviously a very talented and experienced quarterback, but we see that every day with Cade Klubnik back there. He’s a legit due and I’m proud to say we see that every day in practice and we have the same caliber receivers and all that stuff, it just comes down to performance in the game and we didn’t handle our job as a team.”

The culture implemented by defensive coordinator Tom Allen has defenders flying around throughout practice. There was a competition called “takeaway king”, given to the player who had the most takeaways on the defensive side of the ball. 

In fall camp, Hanafin won the competition, and uses his past experiences of being a receiver to help give him an advantage in the secondary. 

“Just being able to understand release and stuff and what a wide receiver sees through their eyes and what they expect and the different kinds of route combinations you’re going to get,” he said. “I think that definitely helps. I only had one or two years at that position, so I’m not super experienced at wide receiver, but it definitely helps me in my preparation and knowledge as a safety, for sure.”

As Clemson prepares for Troy this Saturday afternoon, Hanafin won’t let a standout performance get to his head. It’s a new week after all, and a new opportunity to prove something. 

“I was trying to work for it and I think I’ve worked for it for a while, and whatever else, but at the end of the day, I’m trying to play the best I can and control the controllables.”