Clemson may have found the cleanest path to easing Christopher Vizzina into the starting job: let the receivers do the heavy lifting.
That’s the big takeaway from Blake Brockermeyer’s latest USA TODAY Sports post, where he ranked Clemson’s receiving corps among the 10 best in football. For a quarterback stepping into the spotlight after waiting his turn, that kind of support can change everything.
Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore headline the group at wide receiver. Brockermeyer may lean toward Moore over Wesco, but he also noted that Wesco played in only seven games last fall. Behind them, Naeem Burroughs is expected to break out, and the tight end tandem of Olsen Patt-Henry and Christian Bentancur gives Vizzina more reliable options while he settles in as the new starter.
That setup matters because Vizzina enters the season as a Tier 4 quarterback, and plenty of fans are still waiting to see what he becomes after spending his early college career as a backup. The comparisons are already out there, with questions about whether he’ll trend closer to Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson than to a DJ Uiagalelei or a Klubnik. The simplest answer, though, is also the most important one: he needs to let his pass catchers go make plays.
Moore gives Clemson a proven threat outside the numbers, Wesco brings a dynamic element when he’s on the field, and Burroughs has the chance to blow the whole thing open if he reaches his ceiling. If that happens, Clemson could be on its way back to being WR U. But it still comes back to Vizzina delivering the ball accurately and consistently downfield.
The bigger picture is hard to miss. Clemson may have a talent edge in the passing game against almost everyone it sees in the ACC.
Miami might have the conference’s best receiving corps, but Clemson isn’t far behind. And if the Tigers are going to get back to Charlotte, they’ll need to look like Clemson again.
Vizzina does carry pressure this season, just not the kind Klubnik faced when he took over for Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei, in turn, dealt with even more when he followed Lawrence.
Lawrence, after all, had Kelly Bryant to absorb some of the spotlight before he fully took over from Watson. Vizzina’s situation is different, but the assignment is clear: don’t waste one of the best Clemson receiving rooms in a long time.
If Clemson is going to make a run back to the College Football Playoff, the receivers may have to lead the way.
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Brownell also made clear the roster wont be close to full strength once the games begin, with only nine players expected to be available because of injuries. Zac Foster and Carter Welling are done for the year with ACL injuries, while Ace Buckner is working back from a shoulder issue, and the trip now carries a different kind of value for Clemson as it tries to balance development, evaluation and simply getting healthy enough to make the most of the fall. [Read more 🡒]
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Wright has already been on campus before, including a return trip for Dabo Swinney Football Camp after first earning his offer there, so Clemson is not trying to build this relationship from scratch. He has multiple Division I offers and plans to keep visiting schools before deciding, which means there is still plenty of time for the picture to change, but the Tigers have clearly positioned themselves as a serious option in a race that is only beginning to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Just Entered A Much Bigger 2027 Battle Than Expected
Clemson has jumped into the chase for Jayon Conor, the high school guard who is reclassifying to the 2027 class after turning heads on the AAU circuit. The offer comes as his profile has surged in a hurry, with the breakout stretch that put him on the national radar also pushing him into a much more crowded recruiting picture than he had just a short time ago.
Conors rise has been rapid enough to change the scope of his recruitment almost overnight, and Clemson is now part of a growing list of programs trying to get in early. His preferences are still unclear, which leaves the Tigers waiting to see how he sorts through the attention after a run that has already moved him from an under-the-radar name into one of the more intriguing prospects in the class. [Read more 🡒]