Collins staying patient ahead of 'dream' trip to Notre Dame

Beaux Collins has no receptions in his last two games but leads the Tigers with five touchdown catches overall.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Wed Nov 02 08:32:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON - Sophomore wide receiver Beaux Collins started the season with 18 receptions for 290 yards and five touchdowns through six games. However, he has yet to garner a reception since that Week 6 matchup against Boston College.

Collins offered an explanation for his production going down lately.

“Just the defenses that we’ve played, they’re basically daring us to run the ball,” he said. “So, they have light boxes (fewer defenders around the line of scrimmage), Syracuse had a light box, Florida State sometimes had a light box. So, it’s just what we have to get done at the moment.”

Defenses certainly have been daring Clemson to run the ball. Junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has 235 pass attempts this season, compared to the 326 rushing attempts by the Tigers’ offense. Sophomore running back Will Shipley accounts for 123 of these rushing attempts, while Uiagalelei accounts for 89 and sophomore running back Phil Mafah accounts for 63 rushing attempts.

Speaking of Uiagalelei, he is coming off of a rough outing versus the Syracuse Orange. His performance brought up some conversations regarding a quarterback controversy, although that was quickly shut down postgame. Collins said that he's not worried about Clemson’s quarterback.

“After the game, he was a little down on himself. But, when we came in on Monday, even Sunday, when I saw him, he was already past it and in good spirits. So, I’m never worried about him,” he said. “DJ is very self-aware. He’s a strong leader for this team. All we do is let him know that we have his back.”

Collins was also asked this week about the high productivity of freshman wide receiver Antonio Williams. He currently leads the team in receptions with 29 and receiving yards with 375.

“(Williams) was born with a lot of ability that, I personally, have not seen before. It’s amazing to go out there and see him have fun,” he said. “He catches everything … He was able to pick up on our playbook pretty (quickly). He’s just a special case.”

Discussing Notre Dame, he described what he has seen of the Irish defense so far.

“They play a lot of man (coverage),” he said. “They’re a pretty physical defense as well. They’re experienced. Everyone in the secondary but number 20, they’re above juniors.”

Given the legacy of the Irish football program, and the fact that they recruited him, Collins is looking forward to playing Notre Dame, especially in South Bend. He described it as a “dream” to play there.

Clemson will be playing Notre Dame in prime time, at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Saturday. The last time these two teams faced off was in the ACC Championship in December of 2020, the Tigers winning in a dominating fashion, 34-10.

It was a redemption game for the Tigers after the Irish defeated them 47-40 in double overtime earlier that season. Clemson was ranked No. 1 at the time while Notre Dame was No. 4. This game marked Uiagalelei’s second career start, where he had his only 400-yard passing game and one of the highest quarterback ratings of his career (164.72).