A Look Back at Clemson’s Class of 2013: Offense

As we do each year, we are looking back at previous Clemson recruiting classes. This year we take a look at the class of 2013 since every player has completed their Clemson career. Because of the size of the class of 2013 we’ve broken this up into two articles, this one focuses on recruits that ended up on the offensive side of the ball.

A reminder, a 5 star recruit is expected to contribute immediately and earn starting job relatively quickly. A 4 star recruit may take a year or two to start contributing, and a 3 star player may not contribute until their junior or senior year.

One of the big takeaways I wanted to mention in this class is just how many contributors you see that made a difference in 2015 and 2016. We spend a lot of time talking about blue chip recruits and for good reason. A lot of these guys were key cogs in the offense. Mike Williams and Wayne Gallman are the two big names on offense along with Jordan Leggett. Though the class of 2013 wasn’t big on offense, it did have a few key pieces for the 2015-2017 run.

Tyrone Crowder (OL) – 4 star: Back in 2013 we liked Crowder for his physicality as well as the technique he had coming out of HS. Most of his work was going to be from reshaping his body a bit, and a redshirt was expected. As with most OL it took Crowder a few years to find his feet, but he’s settled into the job well this year and is likely going to have a chance to make an NFL team in 2018.

Tyshon Dye (RB) – 4 star: When Dye arrived at Clemson he was a speedster who could make 1 cut and just go. DrB compared him a little bit to James Davis in terms of style. Unfortunately injuries prevented Dye from ever reaching his full potential and he transferred ahead of the 2017 season to ECU. While there he didn’t make much of a mark either, playing in 6 games and only averaging 23 yards per game with no TDs. A bit of a miss here, even without the injuries it is hard to say how much he would have contributed.

Mike Williams (WR) – 4 star: Another hit in this class, Williams suffered an ugly neck fracture in 2015 but returned in 2016 to be Deshaun Watson’s go to guy. Had he not been injured Williams would have left after the 2015 season because of how talented he was. His ability to high point the ball got him drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Wayne Gallman (RB) – 4 star: Another Grayson player caught up in the Niekemdiche scandal, if you listened to places like the AJC, Gallman was an excellent player in his own right and ended up being one of the best RBs in Clemson history. Out of HS we said Gallman would be an excellent complement to existing backs because of his downhill style and need for a physical back. Gallman filled that role and became the guy for several seasons. He also did an excellent job of pass blocking, something that really helped out our passing game.

Jordan Leggett (TE) – 3 star: Out of school Leggett we said that he was a bit of a tweener. Jordan was too big to be a WR and too small to be an effective TE. After several years of work Leggett took command of the TE position here at Clemson and became a key component to the national title run in 2016 and the year before in 2015. Leggett turned his Clemson career into a job with the New York Jets.

Maverick Morris (OL) – 3 star: Morris originally didn’t have any offers, but after The Chad drilled him at a camp he received an offer on the spot. The coaching staff loved his physicality and aggressiveness at the position, he was a classic Georgia farm boy coming out of school. Morris took a redshirt year, but he contributed each year after that. Though he never became a full time starter he was a critical backup who was good for about 450 snaps a season. An excellent depth piece even if he never did take the next step and become a starter.

D.J. Greenlee (TE) – 3 star: Though Greenlee was rated as a 3 star by 247, he never had the measurables that made sense for the offer. This was a nepotism offer as a favor to a staff member, especially since Greenlee was a LB coming out of HS. He was never going to play LB in college and converted to TE rather quickly. Unfortunately Greenlee never panned out and never got more the a cursory look at Clemson, though he did end his career with a few nice moments.

Overall the offense was a bit up and down for the class of 2013. The highs were really good in this group. But the lows were not great. Add in a few decent players and on offense the class of 2013 was an “as expected.” The guys we expected things out of performed, but there weren’t many surprises. The one exception was Tyshon Dye who was never able to overcome his injuries.