There was no shortage of hype and buzz over the offseason surrounding Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore, and both garnered plenty of praise from teammates and coaches heading into the 2024 campaign.
So why didn’t the highly touted and talented true freshmen receiver tandem play more for Clemson in the season opener against Georgia on Saturday?
Dabo Swinney was asked that question Sunday evening during his Zoom conference call with the media, following the 14th-ranked Tigers’ 34-3 loss to the top-ranked Bulldogs in Atlanta.
“We wanted more, and we only had 52 plays,” Clemson’s head coach said. “So, there wasn’t a lot of plays in the game, and that’s one of the things about playing Georgia is the time of possession. They didn’t have a ton of plays either, so it was just very limited plays, and just never really got in the rhythm of things. And then part of it, too, is just first game, getting these guys going.”
Swinney estimated that Wesco played “12-14 snaps or so” and added that “T.J. got in there some as well.”
Both Wesco and Moore recorded their first career reception in the fourth quarter. They were each targeted one time, with Moore catching a 7-yard pass and Wesco’s grab going for 5 yards.
Swinney says “you’ll continue to see those guys stepping up and getting more opportunity” as this season goes along.
“As I’ve said many times, we’ve kind of got six or seven guys (at receiver) that we kind of view as starters, and now that we’ve got a game, you evaluate week in and week out who’s running out there first, and that’s how you create competition and get the best guys going,” Swinney said. “So, that’s a week to week thing on how they play, how they practice, now that we’re rolling.”
Moore, who was ranked by ESPN as the No. 12 receiver and No. 50 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, enrolled at Clemson this summer. Across his junior and senior seasons at Tampa (Fla.) Catholic, Moore tallied 92 receptions for 2,293 yards and 30 touchdowns while averaging 96 receiving yards per game. He registered 100 receiving yards in 12 games over his final two years.
Wesco, who enrolled early at Clemson in January, was ranked by ESPN as the No. 7 wideout and No. 28 overall prospect in the country for the 2024 class. Wesco recorded 109 receptions for 1,903 yards and scored 29 touchdowns during his prep career at Midlothian (Texas) High. He posted 36 catches for 619 yards and 13 touchdowns in just seven games as a senior after hauling in 56 passes for 1,072 yards and 12 scores as a junior.
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