CLEMSON, S.C. — Heat and pads were fully on display at Jervey Meadows during Clemson’s seventh practice of fall camp. As the Tigers gear up for their week one showdown against LSU, quarterback Christopher Vizzina—known as Chris to his mother—and wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. took set on the ACC Network Road Trip alongside Roddy Jones to discuss the program’s evolving mindset.
Vizzina Steps Up to First-Team Reps
In an era of college sports dominated by frequent transfer portal movement, Vizzina explained why remaining loyal and patient at Clemson was the obvious choice as he now earns first-team reps.
“I just love this place. I want to win here. That’s always been my mission,” Vizzina said. “And I’ve played behind a really good quarterback and learned from him. This is my time, and I’m really excited about it. Everybody’s really excited. So it’s been a great first couple of days.”
Vizzina emphasized that the entire roster has adopted a focused, blue-collar mentality ahead of the season.
“It’s just us. They want to put our back against the wall, and that’s how we’re preaching it to everybody,” Vizzina said. “Since January, this team has come to work. We’ve been running the hills over by the lake this summer, but this spring was great. This fall camp has been a hot one, but this team just really loves to play. This team loves to be around each other and you can tell, just all the work we’ve put in is really paying off right now.”
Unfiltered Connection with Dabo Swinney
When asked about head coach Dabo Swinney’s active role on the practice field and microphone, Vizzina provided insight into the genuine relationship he shares with his head coach.
“He’s just one of the most real people. What you guys see is what he always is like, how he is in the media is how he’s always like,” Vizzina stated. “For me, outside of football, he’s always been just a guy I can always talk to, and you don’t get that in college football with a lot of coaches. So I really appreciate him for doing that. There’ve been times where I’ve had to go see him about things outside of football. And so when we get on the field, it’s like, man, I really want to play for this guy, like we’ve been through some stuff together. And so we’ve had some great conversations, and we’re both excited.”
Wesco’s Road Back to full Health
Wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. is back on the field after suffering an injury last season. Reflecting on the process of getting healthy, Wesco credited the support system around him.
“The process is honestly pretty simple. Just got to have a great mindset at all times and great people around you,” Wesco explained. “And so just being here at Clemson, you always have good people around you supporting you, helping lift you up. And then just being around my teammates, most of the time helping them over the spring. And then while also helping my rehab, just trying to make sure I stay in shape while not being able to be as active. And then so that way, whenever I get the chance again, I can come out here and not have any drop off from where I was last year.”
Taking physical contact again during perimeter blocking drills came naturally to Wesco once camp kicked into gear.
“It wasn’t much. It was blocking; we always block. You kind of throw a hat in the hands. He’s a receiver,” Wesco remarked. “This out there on the perimeter. I’m just blocking first at receiver; that’s what everybody emphasizes. But I wasn’t putting much thought into it. And so whenever it happened, I didn’t even realize anything was different. It was just back to normal.”
Iron Sharpening Iron in Practice Battles
The intensity on the field has been fueled by one-on-one battles between Clemson’s receivers—including Wesco and TJ Moore—and defensive backs like Ashton Hampden.
“It’s great; it can get chirpy at times between our receivers and DBs,” Wesco admitted.
When asked who does the talking on the field, Wesco pointed toward the secondary.
“Ashton does the talking. I’m not much of a talker. I feel like I’m talking more this year just to try and get myself in that mode,” Wesco said. “But other than that, we just always pushing each other, striving to be better. He’ll make a play, I’ll make a play, back and forth. I think that’s the best thing for a team whenever you got guys that can go back and forth. A lot of it really builds toughness and competitiveness. And just having somebody that can give me a challenge at practice, you don’t really get that often at other places. One guy is always on the ball, he’s gonna win on that team. And then that defense isn’t very good. But whenever you got guys that you could line up against in practice, always getting you better.”
Wesco added that competing against top talent daily prepares him for Saturdays.
“It’s just great to have that. So I can go in the game. And it’s just like no one could be better than Ashton,” Wesco said.
Vizzina agreed with Wesco’s assessment of the high-level competition on the perimeter.
“I mean, you hear them too. Exactly, but I’ll say one thing: he backs it up. Both are pros, both guys, and so when the ball is in the air, it’s one-on-one,” Vizzina added. “Everybody on the field is looking like that’s prime time. That’s what everybody is looking for. But it’s friendly competition, and it makes them a lot better. It makes me a lot better. Ashton is one heck of a player. And so we have friendly battles all the time. He’ll go one rep, he’ll get one rep, and it’s exciting to see.”
