There’s not a lot of mystery as to what the top of the depth chart at tight end is going to look like for Clemson come the start of the season.
Still, it’s a position for the Tigers that’s long on options and short on egos.
“I think the best thing about our group is that it’s a bunch of selfless guys,” senior Braden Galloway said. “We want everybody to be successful.”
Galloway is back as the No. 1 option after starting all 12 games last season and finishing with the fourth-most receptions (27) on the team. In an effort to become a more complete tight end, Galloway said he focused on his lower body in the offseason so that he can be more effective help in the running game and is up to 247 pounds from the 240 he played at last season, but Galloway acknowledged his blocking is still a weakness that he’s constantly working to improve.
That’s where Davis Allen comes in. What Galloway may lack in sheer physicality and technique as a blocker, Allen can help with at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, though Allen isn’t exactly a one-trick pony heading into his junior season.
He caught 16 passes as a sophomore with four of those going for touchdowns, second-most on the team. Allen split first-team reps with Galloway during Clemson’s first scrimmage of camp over the weekend, Galloway said, which would seem to indicate an even bigger offensive role for Allen could be looming.
There’s also Jaelyn Lay, Jake Briningstool and Luke Price.
The most physically imposing of the group, Lay hasn’t always played with the physicality one would expect from a 6-6, 270-pounder, something Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he’s pleaded with Lae to embrace, particularly when it comes to blocking. Lay has responded by working on that aspect of his game, though he said improving as a blocker has more to do with technique than strength for him.
“It’s a lot of aspects whether it’s footwork technique, your hands, how you shoot your hands, your steps. You can overstride,” Lay said. “I’ve improved, but I can always get better because I see myself always tending to overstride.”
Lay has also used his long reach to make some impressive catches during camp. Briningstool, another tall target at 6-6, is going through his first collegiate practices as a true freshman while Price may be the most easily forgotten among the group.
A fifth-year senior, Price moved to tight end following the 2018 season after beginning his college career as a linebacker. But Price has only played one season at his new position after a knee injury cost him all of last season.
Price caught just four passes in 2019 and doesn’t have the prototypical body type for the position at 6-2 and 235 pounds, but offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said Price is fundamentally sound enough to have some sort of role for the Tigers this fall.
“The crazy thing is I’ve even pointed out some pictures in the passing game of what I want it to look like using Luke as the example,” Elliott said. “He’s in good shape, and he’s going to help us.”
Allen and Lay both said they haven’t noticed much of a dropoff from one tight end to another during practice. Clemson will get a better gauge of that once the games start Sept. 4 with a marquee opener against Georgia, but the group expects to be productive regardless of who’s getting the credit.
“Obviously I’m not in other position rooms, but everybody wants everybody to be happy and be successful and to make plays,” Galloways said, referencing the tight end room. “I’m happy when Davis makes a play. I’m happy when Jae-Lay gets out there and makes a play. And I think if we continue to do that, everything else will take care of itself.”
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