Clemson lands big commitments from small receivers

Clemson added two big pieces to its recruiting class at wide receiver on Saturday night when Naeem Burroughs and Connor Salmin committed following its Elite Retreat.

Actually, Burroughs and Salmin are on the smaller side which should be just perfect for the Tigers in the coming years.

Over the last decade at Clemson, the coaching staff has fallen in love with these monster outside receivers.

The problem is many of them have not panned out so while they look like a million bucks – and it’s hard to say no to those players on the recruiting trail – many of them have played like a few coins jingling around in your pocket.

Antonio Williams, all 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds of him, led the Tigers in receiving last season with 75 catches for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns. The year before that it was Tyler Brown, who is 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. In 2022, Williams led the team in almost all receiving categories as a freshman.

Of course, there are exceptions.

Former five-star Tee Higgins was a superstar at Clemson before being an early second-round NFL Draft pick. Bulked up 6-foot-3 receiver T.J. Moore could be a star in the making in Death Valley.

One could argue that former five-star Justyn Ross also lived up to expectations at Clemson and would have been an early-round draft pick if not for a devastating neck injury that probably scared off most NFL teams. He was undrafted in 2022 but still plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.

But for each one of those there have been lots of misses – or guys who looked destined for greatness only to not materialize. Size is one part of the equation but many guys just could not piece it together over the years at Clemson.

The late Diondre Overton, killed during a party in 2024, had 55 career catches and went undrafted. Frank Ladson and Joe Ngata looked like ready-made physical freak superstars but neither did much as Ladson transferred to Miami and then UMass and Ngata now plays for the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions.

Ajou Ajou was a no-no and transferred to South Florida before going to Garden City and the CFL and then being picked up by the Indianapolis Colts. EJ Williams, who was under five-star consideration, transferred to Indiana and is now out of football.

Four-star Dacari Collins transferred to NC State and four-star Beaux Collins transferred to Notre Dame but he’s expected to be a late-round pick at best, probably an undrafted free agent.

In the 2023 class, big receiver Noble Johnson lasted two years at Clemson, had three catches and then bounced to Arizona State.

Which brings us back to the Saturday night celebratory news of Clemson landing Burroughs, right on the cusp of being a top-50 prospect, and Salmin, who snuck right inside the Rivals250 in the last rankings release.

At 6-foot and 175 pounds, Burroughs might be the closest thing to Williams in terms of a comparison, someone who can play inside or outside, get open against anybody and make big-time plays look easy.

The four-star picked Clemson over Texas, USC, Florida and others and a source close to the Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles program said Saturday night his pledge was, “out of nowhere.”

“Just the values and principles that coach (Dabo) Swinney stands on and the love coming from the whole team and coaching staff and community, it’s amazing,” Burroughs said.

Salmin is an inch or two bigger but plays in the slot, can move outside, was used in jet sweeps during his junior season and has electric speed. He’s certainly not a big, lumbering, albeit pretty 6-foot-4 outside specimen.

Clemson has tried those players before and it didn’t always work out.

Burroughs and Salmin are smaller. And that’s big.