Clemson Filled with Playmakers at Tight End
By: will-vandervort January 17, 2024

CLEMSON — When Sage Ennis tore his ACL early in Clemson’s win over Georgia Tech last November, it left some wondering what the Tigers were going to do at that position.

Clemson liked to play a lot of 12 personnel—one running back and two tight ends—using All-ACC tight end Jake Briningstool as more of a pass catcher and Ennis mostly as a blocking tight end in the run game. They would occasionally go 13 personnel, bringing in redshirt freshman Josh Sapp in their heavy run packages.

But with Ennis through for the year, the Clemson coaching staff had to bring Sapp and true freshman Olsen Patt-Henry along faster than they thought. They both responded well.

“I have known ever since these guys have been here that they are ballers, they are playmakers,” Briningstool said after the Tigers’ win over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl. “I knew they could get the job done.”

Sapp caught a touchdown pass against Georgia Tech and then a key two-point conversion in the Gator Bowl. Olsen Patt-Henry had a 25-yard catch-and-run in the Gator Bowl

“Now is just a coming out party for everyone else to see what we already knew in our room. We got a great room. We have a bunch of great players,” Briningstool said.

It all starts with Briningstool.

In the Gator Bowl, he led Clemson with nine receptions for 91 yards. His nine receptions tied the Clemson single-game school record for receptions by a tight end, matching John McMakin (vs. Florida State in 1970) and Brandon Ford (vs. LSU in 2012).

Briningstool finished the 2023 season by tying Dwayne Allen’s single-season record for catches by a tight end with 50. His 498 yards were a career high, the most yards by a Clemson tight end since Jordan Leggett had 736 yards in 2016.

He also had a team-best five touchdown receptions.

“Everybody in the room has really come together and is believing in our unit,” Briningstool said. “That is what it really comes down to. I think we have the best tight end room in the country, and I think it showed today.”

The Tigers have since lost Ennis to the transfer portal, but Briningstool is coming back for another season, while Sapp and Patt-Henry are expected to make huge jumps in the off-season, as is freshman Markus Dixon.