All offseason, the chatter surrounding the Clemson wide receiver room was as strong as it’s been in years.

When the Tigers took the field against LSU on Saturday in the season opener for both teams, the Clemson wide receivers were viewed as one of the strengths of the offense and a key reason why the Tigers were favored to win.

Antonio Williams was coming off what was by far his most productive season. Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore both had a years worth of experience under their belts after stellar freshman campaigns. Tyler Brown was back and fully healthy, and Dabo Swinney added 6-foot-5 transfer Tristan Smith to the roster. Add in Cole Turner, and the staff was confident they could go six deep at the position.

However, once Williams left on the second possession with a hamstring injury, it was Wesco, Moore and Brown that saw a bulk of the reps. While there were some bright spots, there were also some key drops, and at the end of the day, more was expected from this group of receivers.

“We need to get better at capitalizing on the opportunities that we get,” Wesco said. “The defense gave us the ball a lot. They had a great game. We just need to work on getting momentum. Making those plays that need to be made. Everybody on the offense.”

Wesco and Moore both had critical drops, and while there is no doubt some of that is due to how well LSU played, Wesco maintains there were plays that were there to be made.

“LSU’s defense was good,” Wesco added. “They were physical, had great footwork and everything. But I think we got open a lot and we just needed to make those opportunities. Even on the contested catches, elite receivers make those catches. More than them being good, we were not playing to our standard.”

This marks the second consecutive time since Wesco joined Clemson that the Tigers have been on the receiving end of a disappointing loss to start the season. Last year, Clemson opened by losing to Georgia 31-3 in Atlanta.

While Wesco didn’t see much action in that one, he did this time around, making the defeat sting that much more.

“Yeah, kind of,” Wesco said. “For me, it felt like more because I played more in this game and I felt like I had more of an impact on this game. We didn’t win with me on the field. But a home loss is never easy, especially an opener. We take big pride in our home games.”