CLEMSON — Clemson running back Phil Mafah says the offense got the best of the defense during the Tigers’ first stadium scrimmage of the spring.
Clemson held a two-hour scrimmage at Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
“Today, the offense looked really good,” Mafah said afterward. “Of course, the defense is definitely going to come ready on Wednesday, so my biggest message to the guys is to keep your head on tight and just continue to build on today and don’t let today affect how you play on Wednesday.
“It is another day, so we have to come with the same mentality of what it takes. You have to come ready to go because we know the guys on the other side will be ready.”
Mafah said the offense was moving the football all afternoon. The senior said the quarterbacks were slinging the ball around, the offensive line had great protections, the backs had great protections and receivers were making plays.
More importantly, they were finishing drives.
“Everything seemed to be working in our favor and we finished,” Mafah said. “That is one thing we wanted to respond with. We finished many times and that was great to see.”
Mafah said freshman receiver Bryant Wesco made a couple of big plays in the scrimmage, including a one-handed catch on fade pass.
“It was just a two-minute drive, and it was a fade ball, and he tipped the ball and caught it with one hand. That was awesome to see,” Mafah said with a big grin.
The Clemson running back later said Wesco reminds him of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
“I feel like if he keeps getting better and he keeps putting the work in, he is going to definitely be good,” Mafah said.
Tight end Jake Briningstool also said Wesco was one of the guys making plays in Saturday’s scrimmage. He also said freshman wideout Chase Byrd made a few plays, as did Antonio Williams, Cole Turner and Troy Stellato.
“Everybody is kind of stepping up and being themselves, then we got the run game,” Briningstool said. “You just got to kind of pick your poison with what we got, so I think we just take off from there and continue to get better.”
Briningstool also said backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina made some great throws on Saturday. The tight end says he has seen a lot of growth out of Vizzina.
“He has kind of let the game slow down for him. I think the biggest thing was mental for him,” Briningstool said. “Watching him, the game has really slowed down and watching him today, they were great throws. He is just going to keep getting better.”
UP NEXT
The Tigers will practice again on Monday before having a second scrimmage on Wednesday. They will then take the following 10 days off for spring break.
–photo by Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK
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