CLEMSON —Though tight end Sage Ennis is lost for the year, Josh Sapp is ready. At least that is the way Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney sees it.

Swinney announced during his weekly conference call Sunday Ennis tore his ACL in the Tigers’ win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Ennis is expected to have surgery on his injured knee later this week.

With Ennis out, Sapp moves up the depth chart as Clemson’s No. 2 tight end behind Jake Briningstool.

“Josh is ready. He has kind of been waiting for his time,” Swinney said. “Obviously, he went in there the other day and took advantage of his opportunity.”

Sapp caught two passes for 17 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown reception from Cade Klubnik with 14:22 to play in the game. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound tight end resembled Tee Higgins somewhat with the way he high pointed the ball, grabbing it over the head of Tech linebacker Paul Moala.

“He made a couple of plays. He is a very natural athlete. He is very instinctive,” Swinney said about the redshirt freshman. “He really understands the game and the nuances of the game. He has played about every position you can play in football.

“He has played quarterback, tight end, defensive end, linebacker, safety. I mean, he has played everything. He just has a high (IQ). He has unique athleticism to him with his body type. He plays with a lot of confidence.”

Swinney mentioned true freshmen Olson Patt-Henry and Markus Dixon will also be in the mix.

“It puts Olson a little bit more in the fray as well. He is a guy that we have high expectations for,” Swinney said. “Now that there are a couple of games left in the regular season, Markus Dixon is a guy that can play if we need him.”

Sapp has played in all 10 games this season. He currently has four receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Patt-Henry has played in three games and has one reception for 12 yards.

Saturday’s game was the third game Dixon has played in this season. He can play in one of the next two remaining regular season games to keep his redshirt intact. The same goes for Patt-Henry.

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