Clemson wide receiver signee TJ Moore puts on show, gives Tigers a glimpse of the future

TJ Moore looks primed to make an immediate impact.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Jan 07 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2024

The Clemson coaching staff hopes that big-play ability at the wide receiver spot is headed to Clemson with a couple of members of the 2024 recruiting class, and one of those two put on a show in San Antonio on Saturday.

Wide receiver commit TJ Moore grabbed 11 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns and was named MVP of the week by On3 after his performance, which also included a highlight-reel one-handed grab.

Despite Moore’s Team East's overall struggles, he put together the big-time effort in the 24th edition of the All-American Bowl, in which the West won 31-28. A four-star receiver from Tampa (Florida) Catholic High School, Moore is ranked No. 89 overall and the No. 18 wide receiver in the class of 2024. He also slots in at the No. 15 player in Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Moore put on a clinic during the week as part of his impressive performance. In different videos out of San Antonio, he showed strong hands and the ability to fight for a catch. In watching his highlights from the past two seasons and over this week, it’s obvious he is probably more of a polished route runner than people realize and gets in and out of his cuts with precision.

He has soft hands but still wins those 1-on-1 battles for the ball.

Moore drew offers from many of the top college football programs in the country, such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon, but signed with Clemson on Dec. 20, 2023. He committed on the same June day as fellow commit Bryant Wesco. Wesco is an early enrollee and had 59 catches as a senior, averaging over 16 yards per catch. He also hauled in 19 TD catches.

Moore, meanwhile, tallied 92 receptions for 2,293 yards and 30 touchdowns across his junior and senior seasons at Tampa (Fla.) Catholic while averaging 96 receiving yards per game.

Head coach Dabo Swinney loves what he has in both receivers.

“They bring big play ability,” Swinney said. “They’re long, again, ball-hawking skills. They make acrobatic catches. They both do great things after the catch. Receiver, we wanted to take two guys there. These guys have been committed, they came into our visit last June, and they’ve been committed ever since. These are two of the top 10 receivers in the country – two great, great players that really bring everything that we’re looking for.

“Wesco’s coming in midyear, so he’ll get a head start, and really excited about him and just the versatility of his game. He can really do a lot of things. Same thing with TJ, man – just two ballhawks. They can go up and get it. They got length, they’ve got speed, they’ve got change of direction, they’ve got the ability to do a lot of things with the ball in their hands after the catch. So, a lot to like.”

Swinney added more on both players.

“TJ is a really big-bodied kid that’s just a great finisher on the ball with a lot of collision balance. And then Wesco, he’s not quite as – he’s long and rangy, he’s still physically (developing),” Swinney said. “That’s why I’m glad he’s coming midyear, because we need to add a little bit of weight on him between now and August, and we will. But man, that kid plays strong. He’s a finisher, he’s an excellent runner with the ball. For a big guy to be able to maneuver and change direction like he does with breakpoints… Again, these are two top-10 guys in the country, so we’re excited about it.

“I just think they’re long, hard to cover one-on-one type of guys,” Swinney said. “They’ve got a lot of natural instincts to them, got natural ball skills, and very polished guys at this stage. That’s why they’re ranked so high. These guys have made a ton of plays, and they’ll show up the day they get here expecting to be great, and that’s the mindset that they bring.”