After a less-than-stellar year for the Tigers offensively, recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham made it a priority to stack up at the receiver position.

Clemson did so by bringing in four wide receivers this cycle, headlined by four-star athlete Ronan Hanafin and fellow four-star receiver Noble Johnson. The Tigers also brought in Tyler Brown and Misun Kelley, both three-star prospects from the Palmetto State.

“One thing that I’m pumped about is this whole class, and I’m probably going to repeat myself a few times, but they’re tough,” Grisham said.

Johnson, who racked up 865 yards and six touchdowns for Rockwall (TX) as a senior this past season, is the lone mid-year enrollee of the four signees. At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, he fits the big-bodied receiver mold that the coaching staff was targeting in this cycle.

“He’s a big-boy guy that can run,” Grisham said. “But what’s probably the most impressive thing about him is he can really sink his hips. He’s a big guy that can get in and out of breaks.”

Hanafin, the highest-rated receiver in the class according to the 247 Composite, chose the Tigers after a long recruiting battle with Notre Dame and other schools.

“When he came and spent time with us, we were really amazed by his character, his personality, his persona,” Grisham said. “On the field, he’s another taller guy, good frame, trim. He’s 205, but man, he looks like could carry 220-something.”

In the history of Clemson football, wide receivers from the state of South Carolina are littered throughout the record books. In fact, three of the program’s five all-time leading receivers hailed from the Palmetto State.

The Tigers added two more South Carolina receivers in the 2023 class, matching their total from last year’s class in the process.

Brown, who hails from Greenville, racked up 71 receptions for 1,034 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Red Raiders this past season. Standing at just 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Brown is a much different type of receiver than the two guys ranked above him.

“Man, he put on a show this year for Greenville,” Grisham said. “We were talking about his track times. He’s going for a sub 10.7 100 (meters). He can run and he’s got wiggle, change of direction. He’s not just a track guy, he can play ball.”

The Tigers rounded out the class with D.W. Daniel product Misun “Tink” Kelley. Former Tiger stars such as Deandre Hopkins, Shaq Lawson, Jarvis Jenkins and DeShawn Williams also joined the program out of Daniel.

Kelley starred on both sides of the ball for the Lions, something the Tigers plan to use to their advantage now that he is on the roster.

“He plays offense, defense, special teams,” Grisham said. “He’ll train at wideout. We’ll teach him the entire plan and then he’ll also train at corner, because he can do it. He’s a dawg.”

Grisham also harped on the off-the-field characteristics of the class, boasting mainly about each guy’s character and work ethic.

“These guys that we’re bringing in are Clemson men that you can be proud to have on this roster,” Grisham said.

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