Dabo Swinney brags on freshman wide receivers, updates health of team

TJ Moore is a highly-regarded WR prospect going through his first week of camp.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Tuesday, August 06 2024

CLEMSON – The freshmen are beginning to shine, but now the difficult part of August camp begins.

The Tigers held their fifth practice of August camp on Tuesday afternoon, and head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media following the practice to discuss the camp's progress.

He was asked about the freshmen wide receivers, and as you would guess, Bryant Wesco is ahead of TJ Moore (Wesco was here in the spring). Moore is sticking to one wide receiver position and is learning a lot through camp’s first week.

“He’s a natural, like I hoped he would be,” Swinney said. “He’s got a lot to learn. I mean, it’s a lot. It’s a bunch of installation, six days of installation. But he’s everything you want. He’s just a natural when it comes to ball skills and things like that. But he’s got a lot on his plate right now from a learning standpoint. But he competes every day, and we’ve just got to keep bringing him along. I’ll be excited to see him get some live work this weekend.

“But he’s progressing. He’s got a good group of guys out there, and mentally, I think he’s getting better and better every day. Again, it’s a lot on him. … So, we’re kind of keeping him in one spot right now. But he’s exactly what we hoped he would be. He’s got great skills, and he’s got good change of direction.”

Moore is also impressive off the field.

“He’s just a great kid, man,” Swinney said. “I love his demeanor; I love just his makeup. He’s got a good head on his shoulders; he’s got good self-awareness. He’s just a low-maintenance kid who loves to play ball.”

Wesco has carried over his good work from the spring.

"I would like to see him finish a few more balls,” Swinney said. "He's a great, great kid that just loves to play and is coachable. We've got us two good young ones right there. Wesco could go play today. He's got that type of understanding. He knows what he has to do and doesn't bust assignments."

*Freshman kicker Nolan Hauser holds the lead in the race for the starting job.

*Swinney said the Tigers are still relatively healthy.

“We’ve got a few guys just getting banged up here or there. But just kind of part of camp,” Swinney said. “That’s always going to be the case. We’ve got a guy here, guy there. But for the most part, still in pretty good shape.”

*Swinney is high on young defensive backs Corian Gipson and Ashton Hampton.

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— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) August 7, 2024

*Freshman running back David Eziomume has progressed since the spring.

"I'm super proud of him. He had the furthest to go since the spring, and it looks like the game has slowed down for him. He's playing faster because he's more confident."

*Tackle Ian Reed was in the hospital for a month last year and isn’t “where he needs to be” according to Swinney. Reed has been getting work on the second-string.

*Quarterback Christopher Vizzina has had some good days.

*The team will put on fall pads on Wednesday and practice in Jervey Meadows (all practices are closed to the public).