Kyle Richardson excited about depth in 'special' group of tight ends

Jake Briningstool is a part of Clemson tight end group that Kyle Richardson is excited about.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Feb 11 07:01:06 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Tight ends coach Kyle Richardson will have five scholarship tight ends available to him this fall, and he thinks it will be a special group.

The Tigers lose Davis Allen and Luke Price to graduation, but return Jake Briningstool (25 receptions for 285 yards and four TDs), Sage Ennis (three receptions for 25 yards in his career), redshirt freshman Josh Sapp. Richardson adds 2023 recruiting class signees Olsen Patt Henry and Markus Dixon to the room this season.

“First off, the tight end room, from top to bottom, was a great group of guys to work with last year. I was their third tight end coach in three or four years and they accepted me. I was going to carve it up and coach it a little bit differently and we all jumped in together, and we had a great year,” Richardson said recently. “We are going to miss Davis Allen and we are going to miss Luke, but we have coming back is really special, too. Brinny (Briningstool) took another step last year and now he gets to take another step into a different type of leadership role and being that guy.

“And then Sage, he didn't play as much last year as he did the year before but he didn't have an offseason with having injuries to both knees. He did nothing in the spring. And then in the summer he was still limited in what he could do in his lower body. I am really excited about what he is going to bring to the table. He looks unbelievable right now and is having a great off-season. And then you have Sapp, who redshirted last year. Sapp has got a ball skill sit that....you're born with it. He's not the biggest guy in the room or the tallest guy in the room, but I love what he brings to the table.”

Richardson said he will need all hands on deck.

“All three of those guys are bringing something different to the table and that's what you have to have in a tight end room,” he said. “And you have to have depth, because we know that season is going to build up. We want to play 15 games and that season and those reps are going to build up on you and you have to have guys who are going to go in there and not miss a beat.”

Dixon was ranked as the No. 12 overall player in Pennsylvania by ESPN.com, Rivals and 247Sports and ranked as the 16th-best TE/H-Back in the nation by ESPN.com. Henry amassed more than 3,000 career receiving yards and led his team to a 1A state title in his final game. He was ranked by ESPN.com as the 11th-best TE/H-Back in the nation.

“When I jumped on the road, I was a little bit behind. Tony (Elliott) had offered one guy at that point, and then he was still kind of warming up some other guys,” Richardson said. “So when I jumped in, everybody was kind of gone. You looked at some of those top guys in the country and they had already committed other places. So I just jumped in fresh and looked at the whole board again and looked at some guys and found these two. Both of them are extremely athletic, both of them come from great families, both of them were leaders on their team, played multiple sports and are just a great culture fit for us. But they are going to be big-time players for us, too. When you turn on the tape of those two, it's crazy what you see. I am really excited to get them in the room.”