CBS Sports identifies WR Bryant Wesco being a ‘spark plug for Clemson’s passing attack’ as a spring football overreaction
The Clemson football program landed a huge name in their 2024 class at a position of need; five-star freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco.
The hype around Wesco has been tremendous and for good reason. Wesco is talented and has a recruiting grade that makes you want to believe he’ll be a massive impact player for Clemson not only in the future, but this upcoming season as a freshman. It goes beyond just that, however, as he was a top performer in Clemson’s spring game.
Over the last few seasons, the Clemson offense has had a lack of playmakers at wide receiver. There was a lot of talent in the wide receiver room, but for various reasons, the unit just hasn’t been able to put things together since the departure of Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Tee Higgins. With the Tigers’ struggles at the position, the hype around five-star wide receiver Bryant Wesco built dramatically as fans are desperate to see another star at wide receiver for the Tigers. In the spring game, Wesco lived up to the hype and looked like that star, scoring a beautiful 9-yard touchdown.
Even with the impressive start to his Clemson career, CBS Sports Chip Patterson doesn’t see that impact being made during his freshman season. According to Patterson’s latest article on ACC overreactions from spring football, Clemson’s is that Wesco will be a spark plug for Clemson’s passing attack.
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.
I get what Patterson is saying here. There are other mouths to feed in this Clemson offense, and there’s a strong chance that Wesco won’t be that 1,000-yard guy right away… but does that mean Wesco can’t be a spark plug for the Tigers’ offense? Absolutely not.
The more talent you have on your offense, the better. We’ve seen glimpses of what Wesco is capable of, and I was impressed. You don’t need to be a team’s number-one guy to make a difference.
Antonio Williams? Excellent. Tyler Brown? Excellent. Are either a true alpha wide receive No. 1? No. That’s not a knock on them; they simply don’t fit that mold. Do you know who does fit that mold? Bryant Wesco.
Wesco’s skill set will be game-changing for this Clemson offense, which leads me to disagree with Patterson’s take.