I'm Jake Briningstool: This is why I chose Clemson football

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Dec 17, 2020, 11:31 AM

Ever since January 26, 2020 when I gave my verbal commitment to Coach (Dabo) Swinney and the staff inside of Coach Swinney’s house people have always asked why Clemson?

The answer is simple: Why not Clemson?

Clemson, South Carolina is a special place and you can feel the genuine love the moment you step onto campus. I visited Clemson three times before committing on my fourth trip to Death Valley.

Each trip the love they shown me grew more and more each time we came. On our first trip, the summer heading into my junior season I competed at the “Dabo Swinney Football Camp.”

I was nervous but ready to showcase my talents. My whole family and some of my teammates from Ravenwood made the trip with me. During the camp, Coach Swinney drove his golf cart over to the field I was competing on and stayed for a handshake and to watch a few reps.

The first rep he saw was during the 1-on-1s. Ironically my high school quarterback and good friend Brian Garcia was throwing and I was running a go route and the ball was perfectly thrown to where only I could get it, luckily I made a one handed catch right in front of Coach.

At the conclusion of the first day of camp, my family and I spent a lot of time talking with Coach (Danny) Pearman, the tight ends coach. He told us after we finished up the workout that Coach Swinney wanted to meet with us in his office.

I was smiling from ear to ear. Throughout the recruiting process I was told Clemson doesn’t offer guys early, they usually do their due diligence and homework to make sure it is who they want. By this time I had over 20 offers from schools such as Alabama, Michigan State, Oregon and others.

Coach Swinney shared with me that they only plan on offering one tight end in my class and it was me.

Fast forward to today, December 15, 2020, the day before officially signing my NLI to go play for the three-time national champions. It has always been a dream of mine to follow my dad's footsteps and play college ball at the highest level and compete for championships.

I can’t wait to make this dream come true and experience it with the people at Clemson University.

Running down the hill, also known as the most exciting 25 seconds in college football will be a lot of fun. Playing for the loud and loyal fans in Death Valley week in and week out is a true blessing to me.

None of this would be possible without my savior Jesus Christ. Being committed for just under a year now and experiencing the class grow over time has been fun to watch and building relationships with these guys that will last a lifetime.

I’m so excited to become a Clemson Tiger and eventually leave a legacy behind, one day for my kids to follow.

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