CLEMSON -- Kyle Richardson, Clemson's first-year passing-game coordinator, recently said the Tigers just need some confidence to revive an air attack that sagged last season.
But before they can generate confidence, they need to be healthy.
And they are far, far from it at receiver.
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Freshman Adam Randall suffered a knee injury last week in practice, according to multiple sources. As of this morning we could not confirm the severity of it, but the vibes we picked up over the weekend were not good.
Football spokesman Ross Taylor said he anticipates an announcement on Randall's status at some point today.
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3:01 P.M. UPDATE (statement from Dabo Swinney): “Adam sustained a knee injury in practice on Friday. He is expected to undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL later this week, after which time I know he will begin attacking his rehab. Adam has had a tremendous spring, and we look forward to having him back on the field once he has returned to full health.”
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As we await clarity on Randall's situation, what's crystal clear is the Tigers' agonizing run of injuries at the position that only a few years ago was the gold standard of college football.
Clemson has no shortage of talent at receiver, but the problem is the Tigers also have no shortage of injuries and other ailments.
Here's the rundown on guys who have missed time over the past month:
E.J. Williams has been on the shelf the entire time after undergoing knee surgery. As of last week he was on crutches.
Troy Stellato tweaked his hamstring on the first day of spring practice and finally returned to full-go last week.
Brannon Spector returned to being his old, springy self after a traumatic experience missing last season with COVID-related problems, but then he injured himself skateboarding and missed time before returning last week.
Beaux Collins injured his hamstring during spring break while getting in extra work running routes, Dabo Swinney said.
Will Taylor, who is slated to play slot receiver, is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season and will play baseball before rejoining the football team this summer.
And now Randall, who's not just a physical specimen but also advanced in his knowledge of the game, is down.
Swinney recently said only three receivers had previously shown up this ready over his entire tenure at Clemson: Sammy Watkins, Justyn Ross and Randall.
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That's some exceedingly high praise to put Randall in that group.
"When I say ready I'm talking about fundamentally, technically, physically, mentally just get it like it's second nature. Release techniques, you name it. Just ready. We've obviously had a bunch of other great players, but they were all lacking something: They had to get stronger, they physically weren't where they needed to be, mentally they weren't where they needed to be, they were basketball players that needed to learn how to be a receiver, or they were a quarterback like Renfrow that needed to learn how to be a receiver ... Whatever, we've had all across the board guys who have developed.
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"But those guys, from the day they got here ... you don't get many of those guys. Those guys don't come around very often."
A run of injuries like this doesn't come around often, either.
During the 2020 season, it felt rare and extenuating when Ross missed the season with a congenital fusion, combined with Joe Ngata and Frank Ladson spending most of the year on the sideline.
But then last year Ross suffered a foot injury before the season and aggravated it later in the season before hanging it up with three games remaining.
Ngata missed four of the final seven games in 2021 with a foot injury.
Ladson had groin surgery in October and was done for the season before transferring to Miami.
Williams was limited to 250 snaps last season and missed five games largely because of injury.
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And we haven't even gotten to the absences at tight end, where Davis Allen, Sage Ennis and Jake Brininstool have largely been unavailable this spring.
Richardson is correct that Clemson's passing game needs confidence in 2022 after seeing it erode substantially last season.
But first, the Tigers need to get healthy on the receiving end of that passing game.
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