Swinney Assesses Moore’s First Clemson Start

During his Zoom conference call with the media Sunday evening, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave his assessment of T.J. Moore after watching the film from Saturday’s game against Stanford.

The talented true freshman wide receiver made his first career start and caught a 14-yard pass in the Tigers’ 40-14 victory over the Cardinal at Death Valley.

“He looked like a freshman from a technical standpoint, just things that he’s got to work on,” Swinney said regarding his evaluation of Moore’s performance. “He had some missed opportunity. He’s gotta use all the tools that he’s equipped with, and that we coach him with. I thought as he got into the game, he kind of reverted back –his first game where he started and had that many plays – and I felt like he kind of reverted back to just some stuff that he could get away with in high school.”

Swinney added that he wants to see Moore, a former five-star prospect from Key West, Fla., “continue to take another step from a technical, fundamental standpoint.”

“But that’s what we’re here for,” Swinney said. “So, it’s good to get it on tape, and a lot we can coach off of that will be good.”

After enrolling at Clemson this past summer, Moore – who was a consensus top-50 national recruit in the 2024 class – has caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown this season while recording at least one reception in each of Clemson’s first four games.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder scored his first career touchdown among his three catches for 44 yards vs. App State on Sept. 7, and then added a 40-yard reception vs. NC State on Sept. 21.

Against Stanford, Moore’s 14-yard catch came on third-and-10 during Clemson’s opening drive of the second half that ended in a field goal to extend the Tigers’ lead to 20-7. Swinney noted that Clemson also picked up multiple first downs thanks to pass interference penalties that were called against Stanford on throws to Moore.

“He made a big third-down play, drew a couple PIs, and then again, the missed opportunity that we need to finish on,” Swinney said. “But there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement for him.”

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