The No. 21 Clemson Tigers (1-1) are coming off a bye week after their commanding win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers. They now look to avenge their final loss of the 2023 season in a rivalry matchup against conference foe, the NC State Wolfpack (2-1).
Freshman phenom Bryant Wesco Jr. was a key contributor to the Tigers’ recent win against the Mountaineers. He put up three receptions for 130 receiving yards and a touchdown and was responsible for early explosive plays that fueled Clemson’s domination, including a 76-yard reception he took to the end zone. Wesco Jr. now looks to bring that momentum into his first conference matchup against NC State.
“I feel like our chemistry as an offense has grown — that App State game showed us when we play as one and have that flow state together as a team; nobody can stop us,” Wesco stated on Wednesday afternoon.
The young rising star is all in on his unit ahead of this weekend’s matchup against the Wolfpack.
“That game itself (Appalachian State) shouldn’t have boosted our confidence; we have that confidence already in our team, so when the receiver group gets going, that’s what we are supposed to be doing,” the freshman receiver added. “Our confidence shouldn’t come from the result of our opponents; it should come from ourselves.”
Wesco has a determined mindset and is starting to understand what it takes to win on a big stage. His first two games of his collegiate career were against a fierce rival, the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta, and a primetime home-opener matchup against Appalachian State — notoriously known for upsetting ranked power conference opponents.
Wesco also discussed how the team plans to advance after their first two games.
“We just have to focus on the details. You know, against Georgia, we just weren’t focused on the details; we weren’t focused on the jobs we had to do. But against Appalachian State, we were more focused on the details, more focused on making the plays we were supposed to make.”
Homing in on the matchup against NC State, the Wolfpack have been struggling early on in the 2024 season. In their season opener against Western Carolina, the team trailed 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter but ultimately pulled away with a 38-21 victory.
After escaping a scare from Western Carolina, they took a bus down to Charlotte to participate in the Duke’s Mayo Classic, where they lost 51-10 to a surging Tennesse Volunteers squad.
The Wolfpack aimed to regroup at home against Louisiana Tech, but the game started going south in the opening half. NC State’s starting quarterback, Grayson McCall, went down with an injury in the second quarter, and the Wolfpack found themselves trailing 17-6 at the halftime break. Freshman quarterback CJ Bailey entered the game for McCall and led the Wolfpack to a 30-20 comeback win over the Bulldogs.
Wesco also spoke about his focus going into this weekend’s matchup.
“They got good defensive backs and linebackers. So, our focus is to play up to our game and make sure we could see the weakness in their defense. They run a lot of cover two and trap, so we want to take whatever they give us.”
Despite this year’s struggles, NC State’s defense over the past few seasons has consistently given opponents trouble. Now heading into conference play, expect a fierce and hungry defense to show up in Death Valley this Saturday. Clemson’s offense will have to replicate the level of execution they displayed against Appalachian State to walk away with a win.
