Tag: Clemson spring game

Clemson’s Bryant Wesco on list of players turning heads in spring practice

Clemson Tigers Football: The hype continues to build for freshman receiver Bryant Wesco.

The hype continues to build for Clemson’s Bryant Wesco.

The 6’2″, 170-pound receiver, a five-star recruit out of Midlothian (Texas) High School, chose Clemson over LSU, Tennessee, USC and others in 2023.

247Sports ranked Wesco as the sixth-best receiver nationally in the class of 2024, as well as the fifth-best player from the Lone Star State.

Noting that Wesco chose to play with another Texas native in quarterback Cade Klubnik when he committed to Clemson, B/R Sports listed Wesco on its list of 10 college football players that were turning heads in spring practice.

Per B/R’s story:

“Simply put: The Tigers haven’t had many talented weapons at wideout like him in the past couple of seasons, so he could team with Antonio Williams to give them a major threat on the outside who can stretch the field and make huge plays downfield.

“Transforming the offense to one that instills fear in folks is why Riley was brought onboard, and coach Dabo Swinney certainly won’t outfit his roster with portal talent, so incoming youngsters like Wesco have to.”

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley recently told The Clemson Insider that he likes what he’s seen from Wesco so far in spring camp.

“Bryant’s done a nice job,” Riley told TCI. “Anytime as a freshman, the whole thing is just, can you handle mentally? And then just the grind, the speed of the game, transitioning at his position at receiver and once you transition to the college speed. He’s been able to mentally handle things, and I think he’s a guy that’s transitioned really well with the speed of the game.”

Wesco caught 109 passes for 1,903 yards and 29 touchdowns during his prep career.

Dabo Swinney remains committed on Uiagalelei as Clemson’s starter

After freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik went 15-23 passing in Saturday’s spring game, Dabo Swinney reaffirmed that DJ Uiagalelei is still the team’s starter.

Clemson’s top two quarterbacks faced off against each other in Saturday’s spring game, and after the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney reaffirmed that rising junior DJ Uiagalelei is the team’s starter.

As an Orange team member, Uiagalelei finished the spring game with 175 yards and one interception on 17-36 passing. He was also sacked five times for a combined loss of 38 yards in his team’s 7-15 loss to the White team.

“DJ [Uiagalelei] is definitely our starter,” Swinney said. “He’s had a great spring. He’s not done anything to not be the starter.”

Meanwhile, second-string mid-year enrollee Cade Klubnik had 106 passing yards and one touchdown on 15-23 passing. The five-star signal-caller also had Clemson’s longest run of the day after scrambling for 14 yards in the first quarter.

“Cade [Klubnik] is a really talented player,” Swinney said. “You got two guys that I think can win at a high level.”

Swinney added that with the lack of full contact for the quarterbacks, Klubnik must continue to adjust to opposing teams’ pass rushes as he was sacked five times on Saturday.

“He’s one of the most self-driven kids you’re ever going to be around,” Swinney said of Klubnik. “He just keeps getting better, and he’ll just keep learning.”

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White team tops Orange in Clemson spring game

In front of a crowd of nearly 35,000-plus fans, Clemson held its annual Orange & White Spring Game at an under-construction Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 9. While the Tigers were without nearly 20-plus scholarship players, they were still able …

In front of a crowd of nearly 35,000-plus fans, Clemson held its annual Orange & White Spring Game at an under-construction Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 9.

While the Tigers were without nearly 20-plus scholarship players, they were still able to conduct the spring game in its entirety. The White team held on for a 15-7 win over the Orange team Saturday.

The game in itself was a defensive showdown. Behind makeshift offensive lines, D.J. Uigalalei and Cade Klubnik played relatively well at times but were often overwhelmed by the penetrating presence of Clemson’s defensive line.

Uiagalelei went 17-of-36 with 175 yards passing with an interception, while Klubnik went 15-of-23 with 106 passing yards and a touchdown. Neither team was able to get anything going on the ground, as they totaled negative 35 yards rushing. Of course, sack yardage is added to that total, but neither team was able to run it effectively, even with that.

Both sides combined for 12 sacks with White tallying seven sacks and Orange recording six.

After the Orange team turned the ball over on downs during the team’s opening drive, the White team took an early 3-0 lead thanks to a Jonathan Weitz 29-yard Field Goal.

From there, the two teams traded punts for over 20 minutes of play before sophomore running back Phil Mafah got the Orange team on the board with a six-yard rushing touchdown, which capped off a five-play, 18-yard drive.

The defense was the star of the first half, as both sides combined for nine sacks and 16 tackles for loss. As for the quarterbacks, Uiagalelei completed 42% of his passes going 10-of-24 with 116 passing yards, while Klubnik went 13-of-19 with 93 yards passing.

In the second half, Klubnik started alternating drives with Hunter Helms, while Uiagalelei alternated drives with Billy Wiles. Uiagalelei was intercepted by freshman safety Sherrod Covil, who returned the pass 31 yards to the 10-yard line.

The White team took advantage of the turnover as Klubnik found Hamp Greene in the corner of the endzone for a seven-yard touchdown. Klubnik nearly had Tye Herbstreit on the play before, but he dropped the pass.

White took a 12-7 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter after the three-play, 10-yard scoring drive. They would ice the game with Weitz’s third-made field goal of the game, which was good from 40-yards out.

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