There are places that have to be seen to be believed; Death Valley is such a place.
– Edward Abbey, author
There has been much ado this offseason about one of Clemson’s incoming freshmen—TJ Moore, who is an elite prospect with an exciting future. However, another name, unlike Moore, has been on campus since the spring. He even did a thing in the spring game:
Wesco, a 6‘2″, 170-pound wide receiver who has drawn positive reviews this spring from teammates and coaches alike, snagged a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trent Pearman with 1:31 left in the first quarter to give the Orange team a 7-6 lead.
Then there was this quote from the Clemson beat back in May:
Bryant Wesco will be a spark plug for Clemson’s passing attack: In 10 seasons of Clemson football from 2011-2020, the Tigers had a 1,000-yard receiver in all but two seasons (2015, 2017). It was a truly remarkable run that included future pros Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Williams and Tee Higgins among others.
But in the last three years (2021-23), no Clemson receiver has finished with more than 604 yards in a season and none from those teams have been selected in the NFL Draft. The tide seems to be turning, however, and one reason to believe that was the spring performance of early enrollee freshman Bryant Wesco.
The blue-chip projections for Wesco are already playing out on the field as both coaches and teammates have been offering offering positive reviews all spring, and he even showed out with a diving over-the-shoulder touchdown grab in the spring game. Wesco specifically might not be the top candidate to be a 1,000-yard receiver for Clemson in 2024 — Antonio Williams, Tyler Brown, Troy Stellato have an experience edge for playing time — but his tools and talent are reminiscent of the days when Clemson had future NFL Draft picks at the position rolling in year-after-year.
What that writer said about Tesco’s projection in 2024 is true in my opinion, it’s unlikely he or Moore will be CFF relevant players, let alone CFF studs this season. But in the years to come, this could be the case very well. First, let’s take a look at that system the writer briefly touches on.
Coaching & System
WR1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 11 — OC: 11.9 (half ppr)
If you’re reading the above quote about Clemson’s propensity for producing 1000-yard receivers over the last decade and looking at the PPG averages quotes above and scratching your head, it’s because the sample the above PPG averages are coming from is a fairly recent interval (2018-2023), and so the numbers are dragged down a bit.
We all know that the Clemson WR room hasn’t been the same for quite some time now. However, as mentioned above, there is optimism that some of the new names in the room could change that. Historically speaking, at least, over the last five full seasons, Dabo’s programs are not dolling out a massive amount of target share to the WR1. Even in 2018-19, when Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins were there, neither commanded a massive share on their own, but you will notice that in 2019, the WR2 was targeted more at 21.6% vs. 17.6% for the WR1.
That was the year where Higgins really broke, going over 1,000 yards and scoring 13 times.
Looking at Riley, his most notable WR during his time as OC was 2022 TCU’s Quentin Johnston, who went over 1,000 yards himself that year on a 21.1% target share. However, even with Riley, his target share numbers historically (albeit only over three seasons) are not other-worldly.
But zooming out to a wider lens, Dabo’s program still has produced eight 1,000-yard receivers in 13 seasons (including the COVID year). And while the offense may be limited with Cade Klubnik at QB, we are looking long-term with Higgins anyway. Who knows who’ll be the QB for the Tigers next year? They could grab some stud out of the port—wait.
Bryant Wesco (6’2″, 170)
According to 247, Wesco was once a five-star recruit but ultimately finished as a high four-star. At this point, we’re just splitting hairs. He was a productive player at the high school level and is one of the biggest recruiting wins of the Dabo era. In his senior year, he accumulated 619 yards and 13 touchdowns in just seven games.
Here’s a quote from the man himself:
We’re gonna be different than last year. We’re gonna have a lot more players than last year and, hopefully, we’re gonna stay healthy, stay hungry and we’re just going to keep being an explosive offense.
And here’s what Swinney said about him:
He’s going to be a factor. I can guarantee you that.
However, one of the primary concerns for Wesco is his weight. He’s listed at a frail 170 on his 247 profile—I assume he’s gained some muscle since touching down on campus in the spring, but even the head coach highlighted that this an area that still needs improvement:
Gotta have a big summer. It’s a long season, and right now he’s not built for it. He’s got a lot of work to do between now and August.
That’s not a big deal because we’re not expecting much in year one anyway. And if he happens to get some big games in, that’s just a bonus.
Overall, while others may be gravitating towards Moore from this room, I would caution the reader not to forget about Wesco, who’s been on campus since January. I’m going to assume Klubnik isn’t going to be turning into Trevor Lawrence anytime soon, but you never know—maybe these two WRs turn into Clemson’s 2025 version of Ross and Higgins.
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