What we've learned this spring: Bryant Wesco is the real deal

Freshman receiver Bryant Wesco has caught the eye of observers this spring.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Mar 20 07:00:03 GMT-04:00 2024

Spring practice is almost over, and here in the break in the action, there are a few things we have gleaned through the first 10 of 15 practices.

Clemson’s football team left for spring break last week, and the Tigers have four more practices – and one closed scrimmage – before the annual spring game on April 6th.

This is part one of two in a look at Clemson's spring so far.

QB Cade Klubnik is better and showing leadership

We haven’t seen Klubnik in a scrimmage situation and not a lot of practice situations, so our information is limited to what we’ve gleaned in interviews and from those around the program. The word is that Klubnik has been more settled this spring – more mature – and it’s shown in his play.

I asked defensive tackle Tré Williams what offensive player has caught his eye this spring and he said Klubnik.

"Our quarterback, man. Love that guy. He’s persevered, and he’s been grinding and grinding and grinding this whole offseason,” Williams said. “As a quarterback, you are supposed to command the attention of the whole team. I feel like since we got back from Jacksonville (Gator Bowl), that’s what he’s done. Shout out to 2 (Klubnik's jersey number).”

Tight end Jake Briningstool agreed.

“Cade has been doing a great job. He’s more comfortable and more mature. He is in command of everybody, and he’s taken another step leadership-wise,” Briningstool said. “He’s being more vocal and a better leader overall. He’s taking guys under his wing and leading us. He has taken a huge jump, just from the last game of the season until now. Mentally and pre-snap and post-snap. He’s done a great job, and now we are just trying to get him some playmakers on the back end.”

Christopher Vizzina has made major strides

Vizzina toiled in the background last season. He redshirted, and as a result, he didn’t take many snaps with the first, second, or even third teams. He finally got his chance to shine in bowl practice but has taken off this spring.

“CV is great. Last year, he came in and was learning, and now he’s been thrown into the fire having to be that number two for us,” Briningstool said. “We’ve been seeing him step up and make plays in practice. Identifying stuff pre-snap and just letting the game slow down for him. I think the biggest thing was just all mental for him, letting the game slow down, and some of the throws he made today were great throws. He is just going to get better and better.”

We were told that Vizzina went without a turnover while tossing a couple of touchdown passes in the last scrimmage. He told us his goal is to push Klubnik, and he feels like he’s doing just that.

WR Bryant Wesco is the "real deal"

The former 5-star walked onto Clemson’s campus needing to gain weight. He added 14 pounds following his arrival but still looked slim as he walked out for the first day of spring practice. That’s one of the last times he looked like a true freshman.

Reports have leaked out about his catches – and the school’s social media team has posted a few of them – and he has shown that he’s a better route runner than people thought. His teammates have also taken notice.

“I just knew he was a tall kid. I thought he was going to be a one-move release,” Tigers safety Khalil Barnes said, “but he’s real sticky. He’s fast. He’s going to be a problem, for sure.”

Wide receiver Troy Stellato also likes what he’s seen.

“It’s hard to get hands on him. Great with his releases. He has a knack for it,” Stellato said. “He’s obviously a highly ranked guy for us. I feel like, guys like that, it’s not too much of a jump, just because of the skillset, you know? It’s translating already.”

Vizzina said he knows all he has to do is get it close to Wesco.

“To know I just gotta put it somewhere in the vicinity of him, he’s going to make a play, that’s a really good feeling,” Vizzina said.

Head coach Dabo Swinney said Wesco will play a role this season.

“Sometimes you see guys, they got all the talent, man. They can run, they can jump, they can change direction. But their maturity doesn’t match the talent,” Swinney said. “He’s very talented, but he’s committed. It’s given him a chance to get the attention of everybody early. He’s done that.

“He's different. He's good. He's really good. He's really fast and long. Great hands. I'm very impressed with him just as a mid-year guy, just coming right out of high school (technically still a high school senior), and he's making plays out there. He looks the part. He's gonna help us (this year) for sure."