Wesco, Moore to the front of Clemson WR room: 5 takeaways from win over Stanford (2025)

CLEMSON— Clemson receiverBryant Wesco Jr. had to take the good with the bad.

Yes, there were multiple footballs that slipped through his grasp on Sept. 28 versus Stanford. Plays the freshman expects to make but didn't.

But when a40-14 win over the Cardinal was all said and done, Wesco had juked one defensive back out of his shoes on a release and left another stuck in the mud on a sudden cut inside to complete a 34-yard catch-and-run.

It was the Tigers' second explosive score in a two-minute stretch, pushing on the accelerator as a third straight home win was claimed. By another comfortable margin.

"Just building momentum every game. Take a win, gain a little bit, take it to the next," Wesco said, "knowing that momentum is not going to stop anytime soon."

Clemson (3-1, 2-0 ACC) is bound for Florida State, poised to a push to the very front of the conference pack. There is still room to grow, plays left on the field, but the Tigers are learning their lessons as they stack wins.

Here are five takeaways from Clemson's victory over the Cardinal:

Freshmen to the front

Three weeks ago, Wesco made his starting debut against Appalachian State, announcing himself with three catches for 130 yards.

Wesco just registered another explosive outing, notching two catches for 104 yards. That included a 70-yard bomb, which could have gone just a few more yards and into the end zone, if it wasn't underthrown by Cade Klubnik.

Meanwhile, freshman classmate T.J. Moore made his first career start, and he was more impactful than his final stat line (one catch, 14 yards) indicates.

The 6-3, 200-pound wideout had a 40-yard catch that was questionably overturned by replay. Moore got behind the Stanford secondary a couple of other times, but he was interfered with or the ball was underthrown.

"A good experience for him," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.

It will be interesting to see if Tyler Browneventually regains a starting role after making it back from an ankle injury versus Stanford. Clemson started Antonio Williams in the slot, and Wesco and Moore were outside.

The freshmen seem to have brought a vertical threat, which was missing in recent seasons. Wesco just became the second Clemson receiver all-time to have two 100-yard performances in his first four games.

The other: Sammy Watkins.

Turner flashes, again

Cole Turnerwas a big-play freshman before Wesco and Moore, hauling in three catches for 101 yards in the ACC title game in 2022. That included a 68-yard grab where Turner nearly scored— if he could have kept his feet.

"The one where I was down to the half-yard line, that kind of haunted me a little bit," Turner admitted.

The last couple of years haven't been easy for Turner, who missed most of last season to injury. He opened with just one catch for 1 yard against Georgia, and it looked like the redshirt sophomore was fading in the Clemson receiver room.

But then the last couple of weeks happened. Turner took an end around for a touchdown in the Tigers' win over N.C. State. He followed that up with a 43-yard jump ball for a score against Stanford to help Clemson pull away.

"Every day you go out there, you want to score a touchdown," Turner said. "Finally being able to get my first touchdown catch feels great."

Turner isn't necessarily going to claim he's the fastest receiver in the room, because Wesco logged the top 10-yard dash time on the team in the offseason. But the native of Vestavia Hills, Ala., adds some pop to Clemson's offense, too.

Red zone defense

Clemson had its share of issues last season, especially on offense.

But defensively, the Tigers struggled to hunker down in the red zone.

Not only has Clemson stopped turning the ball over, but Avieon Terrell and Jeadyn Lukus ended two red-zone drives with picks in back-to-back possessions. It was 20-7 late in the third quarter, but it could have been even closer.

"We were at our best in the red zone," Swinney said. "If you're going to be a great team, you've got to win those situations."

Clemson's defense will want to execute better than it did Saturday because the Cardinal were able to rack up 236 rushing yards. Stanford, apparently, ran some plays the Tigers hadn't seen on film.

But when it mattered most, Clemson's defense had its best moments.

LB production

Clemson's linebacker room thinned when Kobe McCloud went out for the year with a knee injury.

But the Tigers will be just fine if Barrett Carter, Wade Woodazand Sammy Brown stay healthy.

Carter had a monster day, racking up 10 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, and a sack. Woodaz also had 10 tackles along with a clutch interception to set up Turner's touchdown.

Meanwhile, Brown has 5.5 tackles for loss in his first four games. The freshman seems poised for more snaps.

Can't stop now

FSU has had a disastrous start to the season, falling to 1-4 with a loss to SMU.

But Swinney, who is one win away from surpassing FSU legend Bobby Bowden as the ACC's all-time leader in wins, certainly isn't going to let his team take a trip to Tallahassee lightly.

"It doesn't matter what their record is. I know their personnel," Swinney said. "We better have a great week, and we're gonna have to play well."

It might prove fortuitous that the Tigers didn't have their cleanest performance against the Cardinal. They have no reason to get too full of themselves as an opportunity arrives to improve to 3-0 in the ACC and put the Seminoles all but out of the conference race.

Onward the Tigers go.