James Franklin Calls Clemson's Roster "One of the Most Talented in the Country" Ahead of Week 8 Matchup

With Clemson's fourth ACC matchup of the season against Virginia Tech just two days away, head coach James Franklin has plenty of praise for the Tigers' offensive playmakers and roster as a whole.

Speaking to the media Wednesday, the first-year Hokies coach spoke about the return ability of wideout Bryant Wesco Jr., who currently ranks seventh in the country in punt return average at 16.4 yards per return.

"Yeah, you're trying to make sure I don't sleep the rest of the week because I haven't slept based on Wesco up to this point," he began. "I mean, the punt return for a touchdown that he had against Cal, where he ran up in traffic, like, never hesitated; never broke down; caught it on the run. That was an impressive, impressive play. He's fearless, and he's long, and he's fast, and he's athletic."

There’s action in Berkeley 🔥

Bryant Wesco Jr. takes the punt back 65 yards to give Clemson some energy. pic.twitter.com/k9ykSy5W19
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) September 26, 2026

Franklin then turned his attention to the Tigers' overall talent, pointing to their strong recruiting behind what he called "one of the most talented rosters in the country." The numbers back him up, too, as Clemson's starters on both sides of the ball are composed of four five-star recruits, 18 four-stars and just five three-stars.

"I mean, if you go back and look at the recruiting stuff and you watch the guys that they have running around the field, it's one of the most talented rosters in the country. So they have our attention and our respect," he continued. "Obviously, you know, the environment—it's a big-time program and a big-time place, and we're looking forward to going and competing with them and the athletes that they have on their field."

While the talent is certainly there for the Tigers, so is youth. When asked about starting quarterback Tait Reynolds, Franklin said head coach Dabo Swinney and the staff have been managing the situation well by not overwhelming the true freshman.

"Obviously, whenever you're in a situation where you're playing a young guy. I think they're doing a really good job of managing it for a young guy when you don't necessarily want to put everything on their plate," the veteran coach said. "You know, getting the ball out of his hand to the playmakers as quickly as he possibly can. Using his athleticism, which he has very good athleticism, and that helps as well."

Much like Swinney, who compared Reynolds' build to that of college football legend Tim Tebow, Franklin said the first-year signal caller doesn't look like a typical freshman, calling his performance up to this point "impressive."

"And physically, he doesn't look like a young football player; he's put together. He's got all the talent and all the skills, kind of like we're talking about with these other guys as well," he finished. "But it's challenging to play as a young guy at that position at a place with really high expectations and standards. But I've been impressed with him. I obviously knew about him from recruiting out of high school. He's a talented guy, and you see pretty impressive stuff on tape."

Clemson and Franklin's Hokies will find out whose talent comes out on top Saturday in a matchup with major ACC title implications. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.

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