This Clemson football wide receiver is changing positions. What we know

The Clemson football team has moved one of its wide receivers to defense.

Before the Tigers’ game against Georgia in Atlanta last Saturday, The State observed Tigers wide receiver Ronan Hanafin participating in pregame warmups with the defense in a position group that included linebackers, safeties and nickelbacks.

Hanafin (6-foot-3, 215) played linebacker and safety as well as wide receiver at Massachusetts’ Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, where he was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 15 athlete in the country.

Coach Dabo Swinney said Tuesday during his weekly news conference that the change is permanent and Clemson moved Hanafin from offense to defense about three weeks ago during preseason camp.

Hanafin has started practicing as a safety with the hope he can eventually get comfortable enough to swap between the nickelback, strong safety and free safety positions for Clemson.

“I’ve been waiting on y’all to ask me about it,” Swinney said.

Hanafin had a number of Power 4 scholarship offers to play defense but committed to Clemson as a wide receiver in the Class of 2023. Although Hanafin didn’t see the field much on offense as a true freshman (41 offensive snaps), he quickly emerged as a valuable player on special teams and appeared in 11 games for the Tigers.

Swinney said Clemson recruited Hanafin with the understanding and hope he might end up on defense, and he told the Hanafin family as much in the recruiting process.

“A lot of people offered him as a as a defensive player,” Swinney said. “Alabama offered him as a defensive player. Some people offered him as a receiver. I told his family up front: I loved who he was. It was easier for me to evaluate him as a defensive player. He was a no-brainer.”

Swinney said it was “harder” for the Clemson staff to evaluate Hanafin as a receiver but he’s long believed coaches should let recruits start out at the position they want to play “and then you figure it out from there.”

“We’ve had a lot of guys that over the years,” Swinney said, mentioning Vic Beasley, who moved from tight end to defensive end, and TJ Green, who moved from wide receiver to safety.

Swinney said Clemson made the previously unpublicized change during fall camp, so Hanafin is “a little behind” and he’s not sure when Hanafin will make it into a game at his new position (as of Tuesday, he is now listed as a defensive back on Clemson’s official roster).

Clemson had planned to redshirt Hanafin last year as a true freshman before deciding he was too valuable from a special teams perspective to sit. Although he played rarely on offense and was set to do the same this year, given the Tigers’ depth at receiver, he was one of the stars of the special teams unit in 2023.

Hanafin was credited with a special teams tackle against No. 1 Georgia on Saturday, and Swinney said he also came close to blocking one of the Bulldogs’ punts.

“He’s one of the best pure football players on this team,” Swinney said. “This kid is special. He can flat out play the game.”

Hanafin only played three games his senior year because of injury but had 64 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions and a sack as a high school junior in 2021. He also played lacrosse.

“There’ll be a role for him on this team, and we’re going to really develop him,” Swinney said of Hanafin. “But I see him as a guy that has a chance to really be a high level player for us. Defensively, he’s just natural.”

Next Clemson football game

Who: Clemson (0-1) vs. Appalachian State (1-0)

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7

Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC

TV: ACC Network

Line: Clemson by 17 points