CLEMSON – Bryant Wesco Jr., a freshman wide receiver, has emerged as the talk of Clemson football this spring.
Throughout sessions, his teammates and coaches have praised the five-star wide receiver from Midlothian (Texas) High School for his work ethic, playmaking abilities, and catching proficiency.
“He’s doing a really good job, just being a young guy learning,” Clemson tight end Jake Briningstool said. “I know he’s drowning in information, but he’s been doing a good job stepping up, making plays.”
Wesco, 6-foot-2, enrolled in early January and possesses the height and speed to extend the field for a Clemson offence that lacked “explosive chemistry,” as coach Dabo Swinney describes it, last season. Throughout his high school career, he made 109 receptions for 1,903 yards (17.5 yards per catch) and 29 touchdowns.
Tigers running back Phil Mafah says Wesco made a spectacular catch on a fade route in the end zone on Saturday, tipping the ball to himself and catching it with one hand for a touchdown during a two-minute drive during Clemson’s practice. Mafah believes the freshman’s dependability has made him stand out.
“He’s not too cool to work, he wants to get better and you could just tell that he takes it seriously,” Mafah was quoted as saying.
El Capitan High is looking for a new head football coach after Jordan Irsik announced his resignation after only one season, claiming a desire to spend more time with his family.
With the introduction of a new coach, the Gauchos will have had four different head coaches in the last four years.
Irsik guided the Gauchos to a 4-10 season, their most wins since the school debuted in 2013.
However, Irsik claims that the lengthy hours he works as a football coach, even during the offseason, keep him too distant from his family.
“We know what we signed up for during football.”season,” Irsik stated. “But I’ve been arriving home at 9 p.m. and left my wife alone to care for the baby for 14 hours per day.
“Without family support close, it became too much. I can’t prioritise my job over my family. I’ve been around other coaches who have gone through this, and I know coaches who have lost families because of football.”
Irsik stated that he intends to relocate back to the Sacramento area, where they will have greater family support. He also intends to coach part-time at Folsom High.
“It was an incredibly difficult decision because of the relationships I’ve made with the coaches, players and people here,” Irsik said in an interview. “Especially given the amount of time and effort we put in over the last 15 months.
“This is something we’ve been thinking about for months.”
The departure of Irsik adds to the Gauchos football program’s revolving door of head coaches.
The next head coach will be the fourth in four seasons and the eighth since the program’s founding in 2013.
The Gauchos have never had a winning season in school history. El Capitan had a 3-41 record in the five seasons before Irsik took over.
“We need someone who is willing to establish roots here and stay,” El Capitan principal Megan Cope stated. “We need that stability.”
Many of the other Merced County schools have had great success due to their own coaching consistency.
Rob Scheidt, Rick Martinez, Frank Marques, and Dustin Caropreso are the long-time head coaches of Merced, Golden Valley, Hilmar, and Los Banos, respectively.
Cope, El Capitan’s principal, expressed surprise when Irsik notified the school that he was retiring.
“I think it’s frustrating that we accomplished what we did last year, and now we have to replace the head coach,” said Cope, El Capitan’s administrator. “At the end of the day, it is not a single person. “It is the athletes, coaches, parents, and the entire community.”
The school already has three coaching candidates scheduled to interview on Friday.
“I’m looking for a coach with integrity, someone motivated and someone who is there for our student athletes,” Cope told reporters, “and focused on them working hard to become good citizens of the community.”
At linebacker, as with the rest of his defence, new Missouri football defensive coordinator Corey Batoon is more interested in the spring camp process than way-too-early evaluations.
That’s why, following Missouri’s first spring scrimmage on Saturday, he struck a hopeful tone about the team’s linebacker room, despite the fact that there’s a glaring dearth of returning, experienced depth.
Missouri football lost linebackers Ty’Ron Hopper and Chad Bailey over the offseason. Chuck Hicks and Triston Newson played a lot while the depth chart toppers were out with occasional injuries last season, and they appear to be the major starters next season.
However, the room dwindled out throughout the offseason. Mizzou lost backup players DJ Wesolak, Carmycah Glass, Xavier Simmons, and Dameon Wilson to the portal.
“You have the two veteran guys that have played a lot of snaps,” Batoon told reporters, “and then, you know, trying to blend in some of the younger guys, some of the high school guys, some of the transfers.”
Hicks and Newson are the veterans who have seen a lot of snaps. Hicks is in his eighth year of collegiate football, while Newson is a junior college transfer who has played three years. Both started in the Tigers’ Cotton Bowl victory against Ohio State in December.
The players Batoon is attempting to “blend in” are Corey Flagg, who transferred to Missouri from Miami; Brayshawn Littlejohn, who is in his second season after four appearances in 2023; true freshman Brian Huff, an early enrollee; and three-star prospect Nicholas Rodriguez, who will join the Tigers’ linebackers as a freshman this summer.
Who of those players will be on the depth chart in early September to bolster the ‘2’ in their 4-2-5 formation?
That won’t be decided until the spring, but Batoon loves the early indications.
“It’s a process, and we’re eight days into it,” Batoon explained. “But absolutely — probably around Day 5 or 6 — you see that room, for the most part, improve because things are beginning to slow down for them a little. “The installations are slow.”
Flagg is the favourite to lead the newcomers, and a starting role is certainly possible.
Missouri wide receiver Theo Wease noted on Wednesday that the former Hurricane has “been around the ball a lot.” Flagg brings 43 career appearances to Missouri, where he has 179 tackles, 24.5 for loss, two pass deflections, and an interception.
“Very solid. “Very workmanlike,” Batoon commented. “A guy who comes up here at weird hours and is always trying to figure things out, asking inquiries. I believe it is essential to him based on his dedication level and the amount of time I see him up here. He has a thorough understanding; he has played under a variety of systems.
“And now I think — I saw it happened this week a little bit, where the game’s starting to slow down for him a little bit, and now it’s starting to make sense to him, and now you see the athleticism start to show up.”
Littlejohn, along with frequent special teams player and Rock Bridge High alumni Will Norris, are the only returning scholarship linebackers on MU’s roster this season after Hicks and Newson.
Hicks lauded Littlejohn, a redshirt freshman, saying he’s “bigger, stronger, and faster” this season and that his rookie experience has given him a “better understanding” of Year 2.
Hicks also sounded optimistic about the future of Huff, a freshman and early enrollee from Jonesboro, Arkansas. It came with a catch, though.
“He’s one of them guys where it’s like, he’s so young, but he’s gonna be crazy good,” he added. “He’s already, what, 6’3? The boy seemed crazed. He can play, I assure you. Just watch: in a year, he’ll be playing.”
For the time being, Batoon has regularly stated that the Tigers have had eight practices and that there are seven days of camp left, with MU’s open-to-the-public spring game scheduled for Saturday at Faurot Field in Columbia.
The play-caller is delighted with the progress made during the brief but crucial spring ball season, which is already more than halfway completed.
“The guys are starting to make the checks and anticipate the motions and have been able to be more confident with communication, and … the play has really sped up,” Batoon told reporters. “So, continue to observe that. We have another seven days of practice left, and we want to keep up the momentum. But I’ve been quite pleased with the job they’ve done, and we’re starting to see some of the results, as we saw today.
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