The tight ends are once again a big part of the Clemson pass offense

Jake Briningstool is a matchup problem for defenses.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Oct 03 18:03:36 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – The tight end is once again a weapon in the Clemson offense.

During the 2021 season, top tight end targets Davis Allen and Jake Briningstool combined for 31 receptions for 275 yards and four touchdowns. Allen had the majority of those catches (28), yards (208) and touchdowns (three).

New tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Kyle Richardson has had a hand in making sure the tight end is a bigger part of the offense this season, and during the win over NC State last weekend in Death Valley, those two combined for eight catches and a touchdown. A week earlier at Wake Forest, Allen hauled in the go-ahead touchdown as part of a two-score day.

During the season’s first five games, Allen and Briningstool have already combined for 27 catches (14 for Briningstool and 13 for Allen) for 297 yards and five touchdowns, blowing last year’s numbers out of the proverbial water.

"That's one of the things that we worked on a good bit from the spring all the way through preseason camp is just utilizing that tight end room even more so," offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. "They've got to earn it and they earned it. It's week in and week out and they're showing up.”

Streeter said the coaches have been able to utilize the tight end across the field, whether it’s lined up as an H-back, in the slot, outside, or at the end of the line in a typical tight end spot.

“It's a combination of finding matchups and it's a combination of just having confidence in those guys and lining them up in different ways,” Streeter said. “Whether they are coming out of the backfield making plays in the passing game or they are lined out wide making plays in the passing game. My confidence continues to grow in that room and what they have become as players. We've done a good job, I feel like, of an offense of spreading the ball around. It's not just one guy or one position getting all of the catches. I think that makes it harder for the defense to defend.

“We have been able to line them up in different spots, whether it's in the backfield or in the slot or outside, we've been creating matchups with those big bodies. And that takes away tendencies, too. Just being able to grow those packages each and every week has been fun as an offensive staff. Defenses have a hard time figuring out exactly where we're going to use them and whether they're in the box, using them as blockers or things like that, or we're going to spread them out.”

Streeter said that group has earned the trust of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

“We've got so much talent in that room and man, those guys are doing a great job of making plays when the ball is thrown to them, whether they're covered or not,” he said. “And that's special and DJ I know is gaining more and more confidence with those guys. We're gonna continue to build on that."