Waves of Terror: Confidence beaming from deep Clemson WR corps

Bryant Wesco and Antonio Williams are two talents in a deep Clemson WR group.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Tuesday, April 01 2025

Dabo Swinney believes this group of receivers can be classified as “two waves of terror.”

If you ask the players, that may be selling it short.

Clemson’s wide receivers have always been the subject of attention. In recent years, the group has been praised for elevating the program's ceiling.

For the most part this decade, that praise has been hard to find.

“WRU,” as the group coined itself, was struggling to recapture that identity that made defensive coordinators toss and turn on Friday nights.

Enter Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore, a pair that returned some firepower Clemson desperately needed. In a year where Tyler Brown was dealing with injuries, much was shouldered on the freshmen to make contributions.

Entering 2025, this is a group that believes that just about anyone can throw punches.

“We got three waves of terror,” said Moore. “All three receiving groups are good, in my opinion. We are deep everywhere. I feel like we are going to be a good group this year.”

That confidence isn’t just coming from one corner of the WR corps, but every wideout asked share Moore’s sentiment.

For Brown, his junior season feels like a reentry into college football, battling injuries and expectations in his sophomore season.

He believes they can use the added depth to be strategic with reps and matchups. Clemson will have to play an extended season in the College Football Playoff to get to its desired goal, and Brown knows that depth will play a significant factor as the season rounds into form.

“It means depth,” Brown said. “We got guys that we can roll every single day. We shouldn’t get tired on the field. If the first group gets tired, you got another guy just as good coming right in for you. It should be a lot of fun.”

Adding Brown to a group with Antonio Williams, Moore, and Wesco already seems like a top position set in the country.

However, the names don’t stop there.

Tristan Smith has caught everyone’s attention this spring, adding not only a dynamic body type to the room but an infectious joy.

Moore has grown very close to the Southeast Missouri transfer, helping him learn the playbook as quickly as possible so that Smith can focus on making plays.

So far, the returns on the transfer wideout have been very positive.

Moore is incredibly excited for Smith, knowing he plays he can play a valuable role.

“Tristan Smith is one I get to watch practice every day,” Moore said. “We play the same position. I’ve been getting to watch and help coach him on where to have his eyes and when to break his routes. I’m really excited for Tristan. I can’t wait to see what he does.”

Certainly, it can be exciting for someone like Cade Klubnik, who sees Smith as that final piece of what they can do.

The Clemson offense has an orchestrator guiding these pieces who believes they have an offense that’s capable of big things in 2025.

“Tristan’s a great player,” Klubnik said. “We got about six guys who are really good. Out of those six, he’s the last guy we needed to complete that really great room. It was huge. He’s going to be a huge addition for us. I’m excited.”