As wide receiver coach Tyler Grisham has rose in the recruiting rankings in the offseason by acquiring three four-star talents including Naeem Burroughs, Connor Salmin and Gordon Sellars.
He is currently the No. 24 recruiter in the country and the No. 3 WR recruiter behind Florida State’s WR coach and Ohio State’s.
But there’s been a big addition for Clemson this upcoming season in Tristan Smith, a transfer wide out who came from Southeast Missouri State, a school at the FCS level of Division I, as well as playing two years of JUCO ball.
Grisham spoke on the veteran receiver, not starting with his talent but about how great of a character he is to be around since stepping foot on campus.
“His personality is phenomenal, his energy is infectious, he’s a fun guy to be around. He’s very thankful for his opportunity… he’s overcome a whole lot so through his football journey he can share Clemson is unique. I love the young man and am excited about his future.”
Tyler Grisham
As for on the field, Smith showed off his natural talent and frame catching five balls for 137 yards and a touchdown in the 2025 Clemson Spring game.
“He’s long, he has a really great catch radius, he runs well. It’s kind of deceptive [speed] because he’s got such a long stride. He’s got toughness.”
Tyler Grisham
Grisham also critiqued his run-blocking at the position but isn’t too worried about it as he’s been working with him on it.
“In the run game, I’m going to have to really work with him because he’s going to get in a little bit of trouble with how he uses his hands, he is so violent with his hands and sometimes plays a little long, gotta not have him get holding calls.”
Tyler Grisham
It’s safe to say that Smith is without a doubt one of Grisham’s favorite new players on the team and is excited to coach such an outstanding talent with height he’s never seen before first-hand at the position.
Position Room Depth
As for terms of depth, Grisham talked about the Orange and Purple pride, suggesting that everyone should see themselves as a starter. He’s ready to roll and is willing to switch guys in-and-out to have fresh bodies on the field at all times.
“There’s no first group. I’ve got guys I trust in and believe in so you’re going to earn your opportunities, you’re going to earn your reps.”
Tyler Grisham
He expanded on this topic by telling the media that “it’s a blast,” having all the receiver talent and depth from senior Antonio Williams to incoming freshman like Naeem Burroughs.
“It’s a joy to coach these guys and they make my job easy. I told them that last season.”
Tyler Grisham
When asked more about how the wide outs will earn their snaps and opportunities, Grisham resonated with a common theme across all sports known as the “hot hand.”
“Somebody may be having a bad day and I think that’s the thing for me, you’re going to have to earn it. I mean Antonio Williams, from what I’ve heard you wouldn’t know he had the year he just had based on his work ethic this summer, his leadership. I love hearing that because he’s going to set the standard for our guys and he’s going to have to earn it. If he doesn’t perform, the next guy is gonna have to step in. Everyone knows that… make it hard for me to keep you off the field.”
Tyler Grisham
Even with losing Adam Randall to the running back position after a great ground performance versus Texas in the 2024 College Football Playoffs, there’s a lot of talent to look forward to, as well as guys who are back for vengeance like 2023 Freshman All-American Tyler Brown and speedster Cole Turner who were hurt for a majority of last season.
WR Development
In the 2024 season, Grisham’s three starters within his position group (Antonio Williams, TJ Moore, Bryant Wesco Jr.) combined for a total of 2,263 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.
Bryant Wesco Jr was named a Freshman All-American and has seemed to evolve his skill set and lengthy frame over the course of this past offseason.
“It’s been incredible to see, you can just look at him and see he’s put on good weight, over 20 pounds. But it’s funny because he got faster it seemed to me, that’s my main [good] concern. I told him whenever I recruit my guys, I’m not going to be a stickler on your weight. The game is still speed and productivity at this position… I think he’s going to be able to use his body better this season, play behind his hands, using his hands more. I think before he probably tried to use more of his speed and get less physical, I think he can play with a bit more physicality this season.”
Tyler Grisham
While TJ Moore wasn’t able to crack the Freshman All-American list, he still had a phenomenal true-freshman season accounting for 651 yards and five touchdowns on 45 catches, including a dominant performance of 9 receptions, 116 yards and a touchdown against Texas in the Playoffs.
Grisham and plenty of fans are excited to see how he fares heading into the 2025 College Football Season.
“I was on him hard in fall camp [last season]. He made so many plays but as a younger guy who arrived for the second session of summer school, he was a little behind with the playbook trying to learn it, so it was hard to keep him off the field. He might have a missed assignment but man he’s gonna make a big play, it was like we really have to get him up to speed. I think he really accelerated his learning, became a better note-taker and became more of a student of the game.”
Tyler Grisham
He also spoke on the devlopment he wants to see from Moore in the physical aspect of the game, suggesting to put on more weight as it’ll translate to the field, similar to what he said about Wesco Jr.
“For him, he carries his weight well. I want to see him develop a little more up top. I think one thing about our strength and conditioning program that I’ve really talked with him about is that really does translate to the field. I think his force production is something I’ve really tried to hone in on with him. Getting in and out of his breaks, sometimes he needs to put a little more force into the ground which comes back to the weight room.”
Tyler Grisham
When asked about Tyler Brown and Cole Turner, who’ve battled injuries yet have shown so much potential in their short time in Clemson, Grisham explained just how healthy they are and how giddy he is to see what they do back on the field this season.
“Both of those guys are healthy… They’ve really bought in. Especially Tyler, we had the guys over and were shooting some clay the other day and he just looks great, he’s put on some good weight and is thicker up top. When I ask some of the guys, ‘Give me your rankings of the wide outs right now over the summer,’ and he’s up there and that’s what I expected. He’s really performed well and I think he’s hungry, it’s kind of like some have forgot about him you know?
Tyler Grisham
“Cole, I’m so excited for him because my hope is that he takes that next step… he’d step in and make a huge play for us and so he can do that, I just want to see him stay healthy and also that confidence level increase, that improved, I think he knows he belongs.”
Tyler Grisham
To end Grisham’s media day, he had a powerful yet simple message to Clemson Football and more specifically his own position group.
“You stand on your work, it doesn’t matter who you play. If we are preparing to our standard, and we always say ‘We’re playing Clemson,’ and that’s real. Whoever we play game one, game 15, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. So for me the confidence is going to come from the work put in when nobody’s watching… The way you practice is the way you play.
Tyler Grisham
As we know, the media has been giving high praise to Clemson heading into this upcoming season after reaching the Playoffs for the first time since 2020 last year. Many analysts and fans have Clemson’s QB1 Cade Klubnik as the Heisman favorite, not to mention their 81% return in production as a whole has lead to extreme expectations for the entirety of the team.
But Grisham doesn’t seem to let his guys fall into the lofty beliefs of the public, rather he trusts in them to put the work in to managing those expectations and exceeding them.
“That’s [expectations] going to be apart of our messaging early on. I mean, they see it right? Whether they want to or not, they see it. Part of the unfortunate side of social media is that you got to be careful reading your own pressings. So we’ll acknowledge it and we’re not going to run from what people are saying, but we’re also not going to hang our hat on what’s being said. Whether it’s me or them, we can say whatever we want but you have to go do it. The thing I’m excited about is we have a mature group of guys… So I think we’ll be just fine with managing expectations, going and putting the work in, and just play to the best of our ability.”
Tyler Grisham
