How Dabo Swinney helped Ray-Ray McCloud 'so much' when he was at Clemson

Former Clemson receiver Ray-Ray McCloud has made a name for himself as a return man in the NFL.

The Tampa native signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers ahead of last season, and he is entering his sixth year in the National Football League after being drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills.

McCloud recently appeared on “Getcha Popcorn Ready” on Fubo Sports with Terrell Owens and praised Dabo Swinney for helping him get to where he is today.

“Me and Coach Swinney are tight to this day,” McCloud said. “What you see, that’s what he is. What he is showing on his interviews and what people see who really don’t get to meet him, that’s who he really is. If he don’t like you, he’s going to let you know.”

It’s not that Swinney didn’t like McCloud, but he did feel like the speedster didn’t always play up to his potential. Swinney pushed McCloud to get better and work harder during practices.

“For me, I had a whole spring where the whole team was calling him my dad,” Ray-Ray McCloud recalled. “‘Oh, your son is acting up Coach Swinney!’ And he was like, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’m not taking my foot out of his ass all spring.’ He used to tell people that and that is what really got me going.”

During McCloud’s final season at Clemson, as a junior, he started all 14 games, finishing with 49 catches for 503 yards. He also had 25 punt returns for 303 yards and a touchdown.

He has gotten more and more opportunities in the NFL as his career has gone along. Last season with the 49ers, McCloud averaged a career-high 10.8 yards per punt return. McCloud also averaged 23 yards per kickoff return and caught 14 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown.

McCloud credits Dabo Swinney for helping him to develop as an all-around weapon.

“Every day, with every rep I’d take, he would sit back there with me for all 10 reps, after practice and during practice. He’d say, ‘We’ve got two minutes left in the fourth quarter – change the game. Treat this [rep] like there is 85,000 people in the stadium right now,'” McCloud recalled. “And every time I was back there – and even now when I practice – it’s rapid. He helped me get so much confidence and build a character back there, because you have to have a different ego back there.”