Clemson was in the middle of a brawl with Alabama in the 2015 season’s College Football Playoff championship game. Deshaun Watson had a pair of really nice touchdown passes, which wasn’t a surprise. The surprising part was who caught them. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow was on the receiving end of both of these passes.
Meet Hunter Renfrow, the former Clemson walk-on who owned Bama twice
The former walk-on had the game of his life in last year’s Championship, then scored the touchdown that took down the Tide for good.
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Renfrow was Clemson’s No. 2 receiver last year, bringing in two touchdowns and 88 yards on seven catches. Renfrow routinely got the better of Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, a former five-star recruit.
And he did the same against the Tide a year later, running in a 24-yarder to put Clemson within a score in the third quarter, then catching the last-second pick route that gave the Tigers their first national title in 35 years, avenged the loss to Bama, and gave Nick Saban his first-ever defeat in a Championship.
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So, who exactly is this kid?
Renfrow is a redshirt sophomore from Myrtle Beach who originally walked onto the team in 2014. He’s listed as 5’10, 175 pounds on Clemson’s official website. He was a triple option quarterback in high school and eschewed scholarships to play football and baseball at the FCS level to walk on at Clemson. He was offered a scholarship right before the start of the 2015 season after redshirting in 2014.
Renfrow’s importance in this game last year was magnified by the absences of Mike Williams and Deon Cain, who missed due to injury and suspension, respectively. This year, both are back, but Renfrow is still getting the ball.
The most amazing stat: he has seven career touchdowns in games against anybody besides Saban’s mighty Bama defense, with four in National Championships against the Tide.
Mighty impressive timing for a guy whom Dabo Swinney said “looks like a trainer or something” and who said on the field to ESPN after the title win that he wants to be a coach some day.
“I think he’s going to be a great NFL player some day. Eventually he’ll be a 300-pound lifter and (weigh) 188. He’s a baller. Football players come in all shapes and sizes. When you step on the field, it’s not always about how big you are,” Swinney now says.
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