When assessing Clemson’s offensive personnel, one position group that stands out to Garrett Riley is the tight end room.

“Tight end room, you’ve got versatility there,” the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator said Wednesday. “You’ve got quite a bit of athleticism in that room right now. So, that’s been good to see.”

Coming off a breakout sophomore season in 2022, Jake Briningstool is the leading candidate to take over Davis Allen’s role as the No. 1 tight end.

Briningstool accumulated 25 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns across 14 games last season. The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder possesses the speed and athleticism to line up in the slot, as well as in line, and stretch defenses vertically.

“He is unique,” Riley said. “I’ve been around some similar types to him, but he is. He’s very athletic. He’s got a lot of range to him, and then he can really run. This is a guy that can really run, so he’s going to present some matchup problems in one-on-one situations. There’s no question about it.”

Perhaps an overlooked part of the position group is Sage Ennis, who’s heading into his fourth year as a Tiger and has mostly been a reserve to this point.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder dealt with multiple injuries going into last season and was primarily a special teams player. He caught just two passes for 17 yards but has the chance to take on a bigger role this season if he can stay healthy.

“Sage has done a nice job,” Riley said. “I know he’s been injured, but getting him back and seeing some of his physicality early on has been good.”

There’s also the 6-foot-1, 245-pound Josh Sapp, who is coming off a redshirt year in 2022 and will get his first opportunity to earn meaningful snaps this season.

“Sapp’s made a couple nice plays here in the first couple of days,” Riley said. “He’s athletic. He weighs more than you think. He’s almost 240 or something, so he’s one of those bodies that you feel like you could probably do just about anything with. He’s strong enough to hold up in the box and he’s certainly athletic enough to be displaced or flexed out.”

Clemson will also welcome a couple of true freshmen to the tight end competition this summer in Markus Dixon and Olsen Patt Henry, both of whom signed with the Tigers in December.

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