Clemson Position 360: Tight End

Jake Briningstool looks to take another big step in the Clemson offense.

by Ryan Kantor - Contributor - Jul 15, 2024, 1:15 PM

2023 Performance

With 498 receiving yards, tight end Jake Briningstool was Clemson’s third-leading receiver and finished third among ACC TEs in receiving yards. At 6-foot-6, he is a great red zone threat and led Clemson with five receiving TDs. His two best games came in losses to Miami and NC State, where he had five catches for 126 yards and two TDs and eight for 93 yards, respectively. His next-best game came in the Gator Bowl win over Kentucky, posting nine catches for 91 yards.

Unfortunately, there were some gaps in his game. He was inconsistent, sometimes seeming to disappear and be a non-factor in the offense. In the opener against Duke, he registered just one catch for 10 yards. In the Palmetto Bowl, he only had one catch for 3 yards. He had five games with 15 or fewer yards and no TDs. Despite finishing third among ACC TEs in receiving yards, he finished just 8th in PFF grade. This was due to very poor grades in blocking, especially run blocking. His run-blocking grade of 45.4 ranks 21st among the 25 ACC TEs with enough snaps for a full grade.

Briningstool led Clemson TEs with 773 snaps, but he wasn’t alone. Sage Ennis played 173 offensive snaps and was a much stronger blocker, but less of a receiving threat (52 yards). Josh Sapp also received 85 snaps and collected 60 receiving yards, but didn’t offer much as a blocker per PFF’s grades on his limited snap count.

Departures & Additions

Ennis transferred to Florida A&M to play his fifth season. When former Clemson QB and then Florida A&M Coach Willie Simmons left to accept the running backs coach job at Duke, Ennis pivoted and transferred again. This time he joined a different Clemson player turned coach, Tony Elliott at Virginia.

Taking his place on Clemson’s roster is an exciting, highly-rated freshman Christian Bentancur. The four-star from Illinois comes out of high school at 6-foot-5 and 235 lbs. He often split out wide as he finished his high school career with a total of 231 receptions for 3,867 yards and 51 TDs. He has the size and physicality to block, but that may require more experience. Still, he could be a worthy target for the passing game as a freshman if needed.

2024 Expectations

Tight end should once again largely be the Jake Briningstool show. He has the physical tools and has shown high-end ability. Now in his fourth year, we’ll see if Briningstool can perform with a little more consistency while taking the necessary steps to become at least an average blocker. There’s certainly immense upside there.

Sapp appears likely to be the biggest beneficiary of Ennis’s departure. Sapp played the next most snaps among TEs last season and had 60 receiving yards in the Spring Game. Expect him to be second on the depth chart, but he, too, will need to improve his blocking. Olsen Patt-Henry and Markus Dixon round out the returnees. Bentancur has great upside, but it may make sense to redshirt him given there simply may not be enough snaps to go around if Briningstool and Sapp are healthy. He is an incoming prospect to be excited about nonetheless.

Overall, tight end play should incrementally improve with experience and has a chance to make a big leap if Bringinstool has a breakthrough in his development, something that is very realistic.