Just a couple of days after Dabo Swinney announced that Jake Briningstool would not be redshirting this season, the true freshman tight end recorded his first career reception during Clemson’s 30-20 win over Florida State on Saturday.
Briningstool hauled in an 11-yard pass from D.J. Uiagalelei in the second quarter of Saturday’s contest.
During his Zoom conference call with reporters on Sunday evening, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked about Briningstool’s first career catch and the strides he’s made to make himself an option in the Tigers’ tight end room.
“He’s come a long way,” Swinney said. “First, the biggest thing is he’s just physically come a long way. He’s a tough kid, man. I’ll tell you what, we’re really, really fortunate with Davis [Allen], [Sage Ennis] and Braden [Galloway], they’re just naturally physical kids. It comes naturally to Briningstool…I’m excited about what he’s putting on tape.”
Swinney added that if Bringstool had run through the route instead of making the diving catch, he might’ve had a chance to score his first career touchdown.
“It’s a big moment, big first catch there,” he said.” It was a big play for us for sure. He’s gonna be a great one, just gonna keep getting better. He’s got all the tools. He’s got the toughness. He runs like a receiver. He’s got great athleticism and he’s just gonna continue to get bigger and stronger as he goes through the program. So, really happy where his development.”
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