Clemson freshman wide receiver Beaux Collins has a special connection and plenty of chemistry with Tigers star rising sophomore quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
Collins did not have a 2020 fall high school football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as a junior in 2019, he and Uiagalelei helped lead southern California powerhouse St. John Bosco to the CIF-SS Division 1 championship. St. John Bosco was also named the national champion in football in the final USA Today and MaxPreps polls.
After arriving to Clemson last month as a midyear enrollee, Collins is excited to reunite with Uiagalelei on the field next season and catch passes again from his former high school quarterback, while trying to keep the championship success they enjoyed together at St. John Bosco going with the Tigers.
“That’s my dog,” Collins said of Uiagalelei during a video posted on the Clemson Tigers YouTube channel. “We, luckily, got the opportunity to play in high school – win, at that. And just being able to come here, continue that legacy with him is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I would say.”
As a junior in 2019, Collins tallied 41 receptions for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns for a St. John Bosco team that finished the season 13-1.
A former unanimous four-star prospect ranked as a top-50 national player in the 2021 class by ESPN, Collins averaged 24.6 yards per reception and logged five 100-yard games while catching at least one touchdown pass in nine of his team’s 14 games in 2019.
Coming from one of the country’s top prep programs in St. John Bosco, led by head coach Jason Negro, Collins feels well prepared as he makes the transition to college — both on and off the field.
“I would just say even off the field, the teachers do a good job there of keeping us in our books,” Collins said of St. John Bosco. “And on the field, Coach Negro has, over the years, built a great program – just getting us in the weight room, keeping us in there, staying strong, faster than our opponents. And just the winning mentality – every day we had a quote that we go by, and just stayed the course.”