CLEMSON – As Christian Bentancur galloped into North Carolina’s end zone for his first collegiate touchdown on a 45-yard reception last season, he introduced himself to any unacquainted Tiger fans in need of some positivity.

Though Clemson fell to a 7-6 record, its worst finish since 2010, Bentancur showed flashes of electricity in the tight end position, along with teammate Olsen Patt-Henry, who held the starting role for the majority of the 2025 season.

“Christian’s a complete player,” head coach Dabo Swinney said after last year’s UNC game. “He’s big, he’s strong, he can run. He’s learned what to do. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”

Bentancur, then a redshirt freshman, scored another touchdown on the Tar Heels’ defense a few minutes later, busting through obstacles and diving to the finish line to extend Clemson’s lead 34-3. The Lakemoor, Ill., native scored once more against Furman on Nov 22, and made his first start against rival South Carolina one week later after Patt-Henry suffered an injury.

Bentancur’s speed and pass-catching poise came as no shock to those who watched him play both tight end, wide receiver, and as a small forward on the basketball court at Marian Central Catholic High School.

The 6-foot-4 athlete caught five touchdowns in one game as a senior, earning All-State honors, and became the first player in Illinois to record 200 touchdowns on the gridiron and 2,000 points on the court. His high school success translated to being named the No. 3 tight end in his class by PrepStar, and a four-star recruit by most major outlets. 

His work ethic quickly translated to the collegiate level.

“(Bentancur) likes all of it,” Swinney said. He likes every part of playing the position. He loves football. He’s just a worker,” Swinney said.

“I come in here today at 1:30, and he’s out there jamming to music, running 100-yard sprints and walk-backs by himself. That’s just who Christian is. So, bright future, redshirt freshman, and definitely glad he’s a Tiger.”

Now, Bentancur and the other tight ends will have an increased workload, as new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who also held the position for the Tigers from 2011-14, is implementing his tight-end-heavy offense ahead of Clemson’s 2026 season.

At Clemson and in other previous coaching endeavors, Morris has been a proponent of using “12 personnel,” or having two tight ends on the field at one time.

Enter Bentancur.

“I think we have great talent in (the tight end room),” Morris said after a spring practice this March. “I think that those guys just do not understand how important they are in what we do,” he added with a little laugh. “I shouldn’t say…they understand it, but they just thought it was all talk.

“I think right now, they are understanding, like, ‘holy cow we are heavily involved.’”

Through spring practices that several players indicated were “intense” and “tough,” Bentancur, rising sophomore Logan Brooking, and other healthy tight ends got their first doses of what it looks like to play their position for a coach determined to get them the ball.

“I mean it’s always going to be a new challenge with the new system, but you just got to study,” Bentacur said after his first days with Morris. “At the end of the day it’s just concepts and just learning them.”

“(Morris) will always coach us and level us up,” he continued. “But that’s a good thing about coaching is that you just got to take coaching and be good with it, and you got to take his coaching and not listen to the tone of it, just listen to the message.”

Since Patt-Henry missed the spring while recovering from knee surgery, Bentancur was the prominent leader in his position group this spring, and it translated to his performance in Clemson’s annual Orange & White Spring Game. 

The rising redshirt sophomore caught four passes for 45 yards, second only to senior wide receiver Tyler Brown in receiving yards for either team. 

Now, he will enter summer and fall camp with extra experience playing at Memorial Stadium, and with time to “master the offense,” his primary goal for this offseason. 

Bentancur, Morris, and the Tigers will be on full display for the first time this September, when Clemson will head to Baton Rouge, La., to take on LSU in the second installment of a home-and-home series.

The last time Bentancur played LSU, he caught a pass for 20 yards, which was a career-high at the time. Now, he enters Tiger Stadium as a veteran.