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CHESTNUT HILL, MA - OCTOBER 11: Olsen Patt-Henry #11 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates a touchdown during the college football game between Clemson Tigers and Boston College Eagles on October 11, 2025, at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
We look back at pass catchers from last year and then forward to Fall as we look ahead.
At one point Clemson was dubbed “WRU” (Wide Receiver University) after sending Sammy Watkins, Artavis Scott, Nuk Hopkins, Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, and Hunter Renfrow to the league.
Unfortunately, Wide Receiver Coach Jeff Scott’s few classes were peppered with highly-rated players that didn’t pan out. Justyn Ross was his only WR recruit in 2018. Joe Ngata, Frank Ladson, and Brannon Spector were an exciting trio of recruits in the 2019 that didn’t live up to the annual hype.
When Scott left for USF, his replacement, Coach Tyler Grisham bore the brunt of that while also taking a while to find his footing in the role. EJ Williams and Ajou Ajou were his first class in 2020 and then he followed that with Beaux Collins, Dacari Collins, and Troy Stellato. By then, nobody was calling Clemson WRU.
Fortunately, Coach Grisham successfully dug his position group out of this hole. Regardless of where blame lies for that period of desert wandering, Grisham has clearly brought back the WRs for Clemson. Some of the high-profile recruiting successes since then (starting in 2022) include Antonio Williams, TJ Moore, Bryant Wesco, Naeem Burroughs, and Jamarin Simmons. WR now figures to be the greatest strength of Clemson’s offense. They’ll be complemented by a TE room that has two strong options including a senior leader who represented Clemson at ACC Media Days — Olsen Patt-Henry.
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Returning WR/TE Receiving Production
- WR TJ Moore: 837 yards
- WR Antonio Williams: 604 yards (3rd Rnd NFL Draft Pick)
- WR Bryant Wesco: 537 yards
- WR Tristan Smith: 239 yards
- TE Christian Betancur: 215 yards
- WR Tyler Brown: 191 yards
- TE Josh Sapp: 150 yards (Transfer to WVU)
- WR Cole Turner: 144 yards
- TE Olsen Patt-Henry: 126 yards
- All other WR/TEs: 79 yards
75% of the 3,043 of receiving yards from WR/TEs last season will (excluding the 79 yards from Ian Schieffelin and former walk-ons) is back next season.
TJ Moore is a true star. He is an extremely well-rounded athlete measuring in at 6-3 200lbs. He has the size and strength to win jump balls, the speed to get separation, the agility to get open in small spaces and avoid tackles, and great hands to make it all count. Let’s look at a few highlights. In this first one we see his acceleration and shiftiness, and he makes an LSU defender miss:
On this screen you see his acceleration turn a modest gain into a TD.
Finally, appreciate the hands on this catch. Christopher Vizzina slightly overthrows this ball, but it’s no problem for an elite wide receiver.
Bryant Wesco is the other first round caliber talent we must highlight. He is coming off a back/neck injury sustained on a punt return but appears to be healthy entering Fall. He averaged 17.3 yards per reception in both 2024 and 2025. He has the speed to get open and the size and ball skills to win with the ball in the air. Here he demonstrates those ball skills.
Here he is using his speed and vision to navigate through defenders and turn a nice 15-yard gain on a dig route into a long TD.
Of course, we can’t show Bryant Wesco film without showing his first career TD because it was so memorable. Clemson fans were so desperate for explosiveness after Georgia shut them down. Wesco provided it on the first drive after sitting on the bench for most of the season opener vs. Georgia.
I’ve always thought of Wesco as the taller, lankier of the two superstar receivers — almost like Martavis Bryant— but they’re actually about the same size (in fact Wesco is listed as 1 inch shorter and 5 lbs lighter than Moore). Wesco proved to have the agility to make defenders miss in small spaces which is why the staff put him at punt returner. I still don’t love him there and would prefer a slot receiver in that role, but Wesco has proven to be a do-it-all type just like TJ Moore.
Tyler Brown had a great freshman campaign in 2023, was injured in 2024, and then never really made a mark on the 2025 season despite being healthy. He was getting a lot of hype and praise coming into the year, but it never materialized. He has a chance to earn and hold a starting WR spot in the slot, but he needs to avoid costly drops.
Tristan Smith seemed underutilized for much of the year, but when injuries forced him into action, he had a bad case of the drops too. He sued and won for a 5th year of eligibility, and he should be a great backup for the stars (Moore/Wesco) on the outside.
At tight end, Clemson boasts a solid duo of Olsen Patt-Henry and Christian Betancur. Betancur is the better receiver who came in as an extremely highly rated prospect. If he can improve his blocking, he can be an NFL draft candidate. Patt-Henry has missed each of the last two springs with injuries. This time it was a knee injury sustained last November. Despite that, he is a team leader and will get plenty of snaps. PFF graded him poorly, but I remain high on what he brings to the offense as a well-rounded TE. Chad Morris has traditionally used the TEs more than what we saw last year so it would not be shocking to see this duo exceed the 341 combined yards they had last season.
Incoming Talent
While Clemson returns 75% of the production at WR/TE, they still lose Antonio Williams which leaves a big void to fill. Fortunately, these five newcomers plus improved health from Bryant Wesco can help fill that void.
- WR Naeem Burroughs: No. 11 WR recruit nationally. Hails from Jacksonville, FL. 5-11 185lbs and will battle Tyler Brown for snaps in the slot. I expect him to push Brown for snaps.
- WR Gordon Sellars: His 3 catches for 34 yards and TD in the Spring Game highlighted what coaches would say after, he is most polished and ready to contribute of the incoming freshman WRs. At 6-3 200lbs, he has the same build as TJ Moore. He was the no. 27 wide receiver nationally and hails from Charlotte, NC.
- WR Connor Salmin: No. 30 WR nationally. Hails from Maryland. A speedster who has posted a stellar 10.44 100-meter dash time.
- TE Tayveon Wilson: 3-star from West Virginia, but had offers from Miami, Louisville, Penn State, and Virginia Tech. Played multiple sports in high school including being a standout baseball player. Redshirting no longer exists, but he may de facto redshirt as he focuses on playing tight end. Will need to add some muscle to block at the position.
- WR Keil McGriff: Played QB and DB in Newberry, SC before family moved to FL. There he was a weapon as a WR and punt return man. Only 5-10 165 according to 247 and missed most of senior year with a high ankle sprain. Had another P4 offer from Louisville. Could be an example of a player who is better than the typical walk-on, but not someone we would have signed to a full scholarship with the old 85-man scholarship limit. Probably a good use of a roster spot in the new world.
Outlook
There are major questions on this offense including a quarterback (Christopher Vizzina) with just one career start and an offensive line that has only two players who played at least 125 offensive snaps and posted a PFF grade of 65.0 or better (Brayden Jacobs and Ronan O’Connell). Wide Receiver and Tight End are major strengths though. They have the talent to erase slightly off target throws and turn 15-yard plays into 50-yard plays. If the offensive line and QB are passable, the pass catchers can make them look far better than that.
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