Clemson early enrollee Adam Randall 'different breed' of wide receiver

CLEMSON – Joseph Ngata, Clemson’s most NFL-ready wide receiver, smiled and shook his head when asked about 17-year-old Adam Randall.

“I don’t know what his parents feed him,” Ngata said. “He’s huge. He’s fast. He’s a different breed.”

Randall, an early enrollee, is getting rave reviews like that during spring practice as a freshman who could make an immediate impact. He’s a five-star wide receiver with size (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) and speed (10.94 seconds in the 100 meters). In his last game, senior night at Myrtle Beach High School, he scored five touchdowns on 10 catches for 255 yards.

“Physically, you could put him in an NFL locker room and he’d fit right in,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Then you realize he’s just a young player.”

“He’s made some down-the-field plays,” Tigers wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham said. “He’s going to help us. He’s going to play early.”

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Grisham feels it’s his job to keep Randall contained even when the defense can’t.

“Everyone is saying some awesome things about him, but some of those big plays have come against walk-ons,” Grisham said. “I told him, ‘Hey, man, no disrespect, but you’re not going against a first-team corner.’ We’ve got some guys out (plus Andrew Booth and Mario Goodrich have left to turn pro). I said, ‘Let’s remember those dudes in green jerseys that aren’t practicing right now will be back out there, all right? So don’t be too happy. I mean, good job, that’s awesome, you’re doing some good things.'... I’m trying to keep him grounded and keeping him working.”

Grisham said Randall is eager to learn, and one of those lessons is the gap between high school and college, especially on a team that should contend for ACC and possibly national championships.

“He’s got to get better. He’s got to get a lot better,” Grisham said. “But he (should be) a senior in high school, right? We challenge him a good bit about finishing, running after the catch and chasing the ball at all times. That’s big. That’s going to help him become a better pass-catcher. … He’s a big joker. He runs routes sometimes like he’s a big joker. And he gets tired. He knows that, too. ”

Still, Randall is reportedly way out ahead of the learning curve.

“It’s just the little things as far as technique. There’s a lot coming at him,” Swinney said. “He’s been excellent. He just naturally does some things. He’s exactly what we hoped he’d be. He’s going to be a great one.”

Clemson has another early enrollee wide receiver with remarkable similarities to Randall. Antonio Williams (6-2, 180) from Irmo has the same explosiveness, wore the same uniform No. 8 and was even born on the same day, July 14, 2004. Williams had 23 touchdowns and nearly 2,500 yards at Dutch Fork High School.

“He’s going to have every opportunity,” Grisham said of Williams. “That’s why he committed to us. He wants to play early and he’ll compete for that. He’s got the mindset. He’s very confident. He’s got the skill set. … In the return game, he’s a natural – as a punt returner, especially. So, he’ll be able to compete for that as well.”

Clemson football spring game info

The Tigers will conclude spring practice 1 p.m. Saturday with the annual Orange and White Game at Memorial Stadium. Admission is free and no ticket is required. There is no reserved seating. Parking lots open at 8 a.m. and the gates open at 11:30 a.m. Fans should enter though gates 1, 5, 9 and 13. There will be a clear-bag policy. The game will also be shown live on the ACC Network and ESPN+.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football's Adam Randall 'different breed' of wide receiver