Former Auburn Tigers offensive coordinator Chad Morris has plenty of faith to make things work in his third stint with the Clemson Tigers, and second as offensive coordinator. CBS Sports' Brad Crawford believes junior receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. will be the biggest beneficiary of playing in Morris's offense.
As Crawford points out, Morris's up-tempo offense should give Wesco plenty of targets from former Briarwood Christian quarterback Christopher Vizzina to further his development after injuries cut his 2025 season short.
"Wesco only played in six games for the Tigers last season after suffering a back injury against SMU in October, but his production levels were impressive, including a pair of two-touchdown outings. At full strength, Wesco's a field-stretcher and gives first-year starting quarterback Christopher Vizzina two legitimate No. 1s on the outside paired with T.J. Moore. Clemson has previously utilized Wesco's ability in space on crossers and within a new offense coached by Chad Morris, he should get plenty of targets. Quarterback play will determine the ceiling here for Wesco and Moore," Crawford wrote.
ESPN's Bill Connelly predicts Dabo Swinney's good friend Morris's offense will be a massive improvement overall from a middling offensive performance during the 2025 campaign under Garrett Riley.
"Hiring an old friend, as Dabo Swinney has done here, frequently fails to generate the success of the first go-round, and Morris hasn't pulled the strings for a good college offense since 2017. But after Clemson stumbled from 16th to 65th in offensive SP+ last season, odds still favor Morris overseeing improvement," Connelly wrote.
Chad Morris wants to run the football well too
Morris is looking to implement Wing T concepts, making stars out of speedsters like sophomore Gideon Davidson and SMU Mustangs transfer Chris Johnson Jr. in the backfield. A strong running game is the key to making Morris's offense work, as Tank Bigsby showed during the last season AU had a winning record.
This is going to be a smash-mouth, physical offense that opens up shots downfield. While Morris couldn't get much out of Bo Nix during his lone season on the Plains in 2020, he should have a top ACC offensive line in Clemson to maximize his skill-position players.
Assuming the run is well-established in Upstate South Carolina this coming fall, Morris should have enough to help Clemson's machine roll with a well-prepared first-year QB and strong protection up front.