Clemson offense leader says there's no telling where they can go from here

Jake Briningstool sees a Clemson offense with plenty of potential.

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Monday, September 16 2024

CLEMSON—Senior tight end Jake Briningstool has seen the Tigers change and grow a lot in his three years at Clemson.

Going into his fourth and final season, Briningstool has watched junior quarterback Cade Klubnik develop into a strong leader, and how the Tiger offense has adopted the philosophy offensive coordinator Garrett Riley brought to the team.

“I think our biggest thing is just trying to get better every single day. Going back to the spring, even back to when Coach Riley got here two springs ago, just his philosophy that he brought in here, just going to work every single day trying to build that chemistry and now we’re starting to see the benefits of our hard work, everything we put in through the summer, all the timing, everything we’ve done with Cade,” Briningstool said. “Cade, (what) he’s done leadership-wise, I think it’s just starting to pay off now. But, I don’t think there’s (any) telling where we can go. I think we got a lot of playmakers, a lot of guys that can make plays. So, just take it week-by-week and let it do its thing.”

Briningstool had his second career game over 100 receiving yards and with multiple touchdowns in Clemson’s 66-20 win against Appalachian State on Sat. Sept. 7. The only other time he accomplished this feat was last season in the Tigers’ 28-20 loss to Miami when he had a career-high of 126 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In his career thus far, he has 88 receptions for 976 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. His 12 receiving touchdowns are tied for the 21st-most of any Clemson player. However, that is also tied with Dwayne Allen, Davis Allen and Brandon Ford for the second-most ever for a Clemson tight end.

It makes sense then that Briningstool is starting to think about the legacy he will leave behind once his Clemson career is finished.

“There’s been a lot of great tight ends that have come through here, a lot of really good players. So, just to even be mentioned in that category is an honor for me. The guys we got in our room right now, really good players. I love every single one of them,” Briningstool said. “So, just continuing to do my job, be the example, let guys watch me, and then be a reflection of the tight end standard that we’ve set here and (tight ends coach) Coach (Kyle Richardson) has set here, kind of just coming to work every single day doing my best and leaving a legacy behind. I think that’s something pretty cool, something I set out to do when I committed to Clemson back in 2020. So, just working hard and trying to do it my way.”

Part of what Briningstool will leave behind is a talented tight end group that has learned and benefitted from his veteran leadership. Because the Tigers went up big against the Mountaineers so early, many different tight ends had the opportunity to get some playing time, including sophomore Olsen Patt-Henry, true freshman Christian Bentancur and redshirt freshman Markus Dixon.

“Olsen, he’s a young guy in his career, just getting started. He’s going to be a really good player. Even Christian and Markus got in there a little bit,” Briningstool said. “I think we got a really good tight end room and I think that was what makes it most fun for me, just being able to come here, have competition, go to work every single day, just make each other better, have each other’s strengths and weaknesses and just, we’re all really good friends too. So, we just do it together.”

Receiving tight ends have become an even greater commodity in the NFL. However, blocking is still an essential function of the tight end position. This was something that Briningstool has historically struggled with. But this year, this seems to have improved with Briningstool and the entire tight end group.

“I think, as a tight end room as far as blocking goes, (this) is the best I think we’ve ever been since I’ve been here just in terms of o-line communication or knowing what to do, just everything that goes into the run game,” Briningstool said. “Credit to Coach (Richardson). Credit to (offensive line coach) Coach (Matt) Luke, the work they’ve done and helped us out. So, I think that’s just a result of all the work we’ve put in.”

No. 21 Clemson will have its first ACC matchup of the season against NC State, which is coming off a 30-20 victory against Louisiana Tech. In his three previous games against the Wolfpack, Briningstool has recorded 12 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.