Clemson signed 27 players as part of its 2023 recruiting class, some of whom still have yet to make it to campus.
Fifteen signees went through spring practice, the largest number of early enrollees the Tigers have ever had during the Dabo Swinney era. In this series, The Clemson Insider is taking a closer look at the 12 newcomers that won’t arrive until the summer and the likelihood of them contributing immediately based on development and positional need.
TCI previously highlighted Rob Billings, Tyler Brown, Markus Dixon and Jarvis Green. Next up is Ronan Hanafin.
Position: Receiver
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 205 pounds
Ranking: 4 stars (247Sports Composite)
Previous school: Buckingham Browne & Nichols (Massachusetts) School
The skinny: Hanafin comes from a family of athletes. His brother, Shane, is a quarterback at Boston College while his father, Dan, was a quarterback at Boston University in the late 1990s. Hanafin is a big-bodied wideout who missed most of his senior season because of injury. As a junior in 2021, he caught 30 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns. He also played defense and returned kicks in high school but was recruited specifically as an outside receiver by Clemson.
Clemson has one of its starting receivers back on the outside in Beaux Collins, the most experienced wideout left on the Tigers’ roster in terms of games played. The Tigers also return Brannon Spector, Adam Randall and Cole Turner with Randall and Turner believed to be the primary contenders for the starting job opposite Collins. Throw in Troy Stellato and fellow newcomer Noble Johnson, who went through the spring as an early enrollee, and it makes for plenty of competition for game reps at Hanafin’s position. But outside of Collins and slot receiver Antonio Williams, the ability to consistently make plays in the passing game is something Clemson is still seeking from its receiving corps. Both Randall and Turner emerged as part of the rotation out wide last season. And if Hanafin does enough to impress during preseason camp and into the season, it’s at least possible that he could be the next true freshman to get on the field out wide.