Predicting 5 Clemson football breakout candidates for 2024: Wade Woodaz to Bryant Wesco Jr

CLEMSON – Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney faced criticism this offseason for being one of four FBS schools to not add a transfer player in the 2024 cycle.

The criticism came after the Tigers finished with a 9-4 record to miss the College Football Playoff for the third straight season. Despite trying to land transfers in the winter cycle, Swinney has always leaned into recruiting high school players and developing them rather than using the portal.

For the Tigers to make the new 12-team playoffs, some of Clemson's existing players must step up. Here are five players who are primed to breakout in 2024:

Linebacker Wade Woodaz

The Florida native is primed for the biggest breakout on the team. He will start at linebacker alongside Barrett Carter after Jeremiah Trotter Jr. declared for the NFL draft. Woodaz only played outside linebacker in college except for in the Gator Bowl, but he played middle linebacker throughout the spring and fell in love with the position.

In his first two seasons, he recorded 48 tackles (11.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks), two pass deflections and two interceptions in 27 games (six starts). He is set up to exceed those totals in arguably one of the best linebacker units in the nation.

Wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr.

The four-star recruit made spectacular catches in practice and in Clemson's spring game, showcasing the potential to be the seventh freshman wide receiver to lead the Tigers in receptions under Swinney.

Wesco, 6-foot-2, will have to add more weight though, checking in at 170 pounds as a midyear enrollee. He added some weight in the spring but will need to continue to beef up to avoid injuries that plagued Clemson's wide receiver room last year.

MORE: Carolina Panthers mark 30th season with practice at Clemson: Date, time, ticket price for fan fest

Defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart

After four seasons, Capehart is in line to start at defensive tackle for the first time. The South Carolina native recorded 30 tackles (nine for loss) and two sacks across 34 games in his career.

The 6-5, 320-pound lineman will have the opportunity to dominate in the trenches after Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis went pro and Peter Woods and Caden Story moved from defensive tackle to end.

Wide receiver Troy Stellato

Swinney joked during the spring that Stellato is always injured. The junior played in two games in his first two seasons after suffering an ACL injury in 2022. Last season, he injured his hamstring before fall practice, then injured his shoulder against North Carolina on Nov. 18.

Stellato participated in 10 spring practices before receiving cleanup surgery on his shoulder in March. He exclusively worked the slot position to improve his effectiveness with quarterback Cade Klubnik. The receiver is confident he can build on his strong 2023, when he recorded 38 catches for 321 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Defensive end Jahiem Lawson

Lawson, the younger brother of former Clemson standout Shaq Lawson, has logged two tackles over five games in two seasons. But the sophomore had a strong spring.

The South Carolina native has added weight and improved his technique to be a key rotational edge rusher. He displayed his development in Clemson's spring game, recording two tackles for loss including a sack. To avoid injuries to the quarterbacks, Swinney gave them non-contact status and quickly whistled a sack whenever a defender got within arms' length of the quarterbacks.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: 5 breakout candidates for Dabo Swinney in 2024