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How Clemson football's win vs App State marked the arrivals of Bryant Wesco Jr., TJ Moore
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- How Clemson football's win vs App State marked the arrivals of Bryant Wesco Jr., TJ Moore
CLEMSON — Clemson football 's first win of the season marked the arrivals of freshman wide receivers Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore .
The No. 20 Tigers (1-1) hyped both wideouts throughout the offseason as dynamic, speedy players who could help immediately. Yet they played the fewest snaps of any of the team's receivers in the season opener blowout loss to Georgia, with Wesco getting 12 and Moore with six..
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Clemson coach Dabo Swinney backed his praise of the two, though, in the Tigers ' 66-20 victory Saturday against Appalachian State (1-1) at Memorial Stadium. They played an integral part in Clemson's record-setting first half in points and yards in their first home game in Death Valley.
"Two special dudes, and they're not guys that are just here for a semester," Swinney said. "They're gonna be here for a while. They get to grow up in our program."
Wesco, who made his first career start in place of wide receiver Adam Randall , ignited Clemson's offense on the first drive of the game. He scored on a 76-yard pass from quarterback Cade Klubnik , weaving through App State's zone defense, and Klubnik hit him in stride for the Tigers ' first touchdown of the season. Wesco's catch was the longest by a Clemson freshman since wide receiver Tee Higgins in 2017.
Wesco caught two more passes in the first quarter — including a 51-yard reception, where he beat one-on-one press coverage — and finished with three receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. In his second career game, he tied four Clemson players for the fewest career games to record 100 receiving yards in program history .
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"I can't really think of anything that he's bad at," Klubnik said. "(Saturday), you got to see his vertical speed, but he can really do it all."
Moore had three catches for 44 yards and one touchdown. His first two catches came on an out route and a screen pass, but he showed his big-play ability on his first career score. Klubnik hit him in stride off a post route, and Moore went for 33 yards, slicing through the Mountaineers ' zone defense and outrunning defenders to score.
Clemson had 10 passing big plays — throws for 15 yards — and the freshman receivers contributed to three of them.
MORE: Why Clemson football's offensive eruption vs App State was so important for Tigers, Dabo Swinney
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"They just showed the opportunity wasn't too big for them," running back Phil Mafah said.
Since quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence departed Clemson, the team has lacked consistent explosive plays. Last season, Klubnik averaged the fewest yards per attempt in the ACC, with a rotating cast of receivers who were injured or couldn't create consistent separation against defenders.
Saturday's performance was what Clemson and its fans have craved for years. The offensive line held up in protection for Klubnik, and pass catchers created separation and got open against whatever coverage App State threw at them.
With the emergence of the two highly touted freshmen, Clemson hopes those days are behind it, and the team maintains its level of explosiveness as it enters its open week before facing NC State on Sept. 21 at Memorial Stadium.
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"It gives us a big confidence boost knowing we're good enough to be one of the best teams in the nation," Wesco said.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Dynamic receivers Bryant Wesco Jr., TJ Moore score
