Kyle Richardson – Syndication Server

Who’s up next for Clemson at receiver?

Clemson’s receivers have seen their production drop off dramatically in recent weeks. Now the group is missing one of its top playmakers. Beaux Collins will miss Saturday’s game against Louisville with a separated shoulder he sustained in the second …

Clemson’s receivers have seen their production drop off dramatically in recent weeks. Now the group is missing one of its top playmakers.

Beaux Collins will miss Saturday’s game against Louisville with a separated shoulder he sustained in the second half of the Tigers’ loss at Notre Dame last week. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said this week he’s hopeful the sophomore wideout can return against Miami next week, though there’s at least a chance the Tigers will have to make do without him for multiple games.

It’s a significant blow for a receiving corps that’s still searching for consistency. With at least three catches in four of Clemson’s first six games, Collins emerged as Uiagalelei’s go-to target during the first half of the season. But Collins has just two receptions over the last three games, a microcosm of the group’s collective involvement – or lack thereof – in the offense lately.

“We keep telling our guys that you don’t know when your number is going to be called,” passing-game coordinator Kyle Richardson said. “But at some point, your number is going to be called. And you’ve got to go out there and execute and you’ve got to make plays.”

In a group that also includes a healthy Joseph Ngata and juniors E.J. Williams and Brannon Spector, true freshman Antonio Williams has emerged as the primary target lately with five receptions in three of the last six games. No other receiver on the roster has caught more than four passes in a game all season, and, other than Collins (team-high five), none has more than two touchdown receptions.

Tight ends Davis Allen (three TD catches) and Jake Briningstool (four) have provided a boost to the passing game. But who are the Tigers looking at to not only fill in for Collins but also kickstart what’s been a largely dormant group wideouts of late?

E.J. Williams and Spector are now listed as co-starters at the outside receiver position opposite Ngata on Clemson’s updated depth chart. The pair has combined for just 17 catches this season. Williams doesn’t have a reception in the last four games.

“This is a great opportunity for both of those guys to step up and take advantage of it while Beaux is out,” Swinney said. “Excited for them. They’ve had a good week of practice. Ready to go.”

And don’t be surprised if another true freshman, Adam Randall, continues to see his reps increase.

Clemson has been gradually working Randall back into the mix after the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder spent the summer recovering from ACL surgery. He didn’t play more than 19 snaps in any of his first three games back, but he’s been averaging more than 26 over the last four. Randall caught two passes against Notre Dame, matching his season total going into that game.

“He’s a big-time playmaker for us in practice,” Richardson said of Randall. “He’s gotten more reps in a game and will slowly get more reps there.

“Spector is kind of a glue guy. He can go to any of the three positions, play any of the positions and be really consistent there. I think with Davis and Briny (Briningstool), you’ve got two guys there that can also plug and play. I know just because they have tight end beside their name, they don’t necessarily get lumped into that receiver group. But when you get into these types of situations, it’s about getting your best players on the field and getting your best players on the field surrounding your quarterback, especially when your quarterback is struggling a little bit.”

With that in mind, Richardson suggested being down one of its primary receivers for the time being may force Clemson to have to get more creative with how it uses its available pass-catchers.

“I won’t get into depth with it. I know Louisville is probably listening,” he said. “But we’ll have a plan with how we’re going to carve up our personnel packages moving forward.”

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Identity crisis?

What is the identity of Clemson’s offense? That was a question posed by The Clemson Insider to players and coaches this week, including head coach Dabo Swinney. The answers were varied and far from concrete. “That’s a good question,” said tight ends …

What is the identity of Clemson’s offense?

That was a question posed by The Clemson Insider to players and coaches this week, including head coach Dabo Swinney. The answers were varied and far from concrete.

“That’s a good question,” said tight ends coach Kyle Richardson, who doubles as the passing-game coordinator.

Nine games into this season, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the strength of the unit is. At least consistently.

“One thing that sticks out to me about this offense is just the love that we have for each other,” senior tight end Davis Allen said. “We’re extremely, extremely close. Closer than what I’ve noticed in the past, but we’re fast, physical, smart and confident.”

Not everyone agrees with the latter part of Allen’s sentiment.

“I think it’s just a lack of confidence and not just with the quarterback,” Richardson said. “It’s across the board, and we’ve just got to get that back and get back to being consistent.”

The best thing Clemson has going for it at the moment is the running game. Swinney went as far as to say the Tigers are “built to run the football,” but that may be a stretch. Statistically, Clemson’s running game is among the top 50 in the country, ranking 49th at 174 yards per game, but those numbers have been inflated by what have been a pair of outliers so far.

Even with former five-star signee Will Shipley atop the running back depth chart, a bruising complement in 230-pounder Phil Mafah, help from a more mobile D.J. Uiagalelei and a more cohesive offensive line, Clemson has only eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark twice this season. One of those performances came against Louisiana Tech, which statistically owns the worst run defense in the FBS (234.2 yards allowed per game).

Clemson has averaged just 142 yards on the ground in its other seven games and is coming off its worst rushing performance of the season with just 90 yards against Notre Dame.

The most consistent the Tigers have been is with their situational offense. Clemson’s third-down and red-zone conversion percentages both rank in the top 20 nationally, but with a running game that goes hot and cold and a passing game that’s spinning its wheels, there’s no clear answer on the best way for Clemson to go about trying to move the ball between the 20-yard lines.

Uiagalelei and his receiving corps had the look early on of a group that was ready to leave their 2021 struggles behind. The Tigers averaged nearly 280 yards passing through the first four games, including that brilliant 371-yard, five-touchdown performance from Uiagalelei that helped the Tigers hold off what was then a ranked Wake Forest team on the road in late September.

It’s been a regression since. The Tigers haven’t thrown for more than 220 yards in any of the last five games, and the explosiveness that had returned through the air early on has largely vanished with a group of receivers that has been hit or miss.

Beaux Collins, who had four touchdown grabs through the first four games, has caught just two passes in the last three. Freshman Antonio Williams has recently emerged as Uiagalelei’s primary target (team-leading 33 receptions), but the speedy slot receiver has averaged 6.5 yards or less per catch in three of his last four games.

Shipley has as many receptions as Joseph Ngata (24). Shipley and tight ends Davis Allen (second on the team with 27 catches) and Jake Briningstool (four TD receptions) have been targeted just as much if not more than the receivers, none of which have more than five catches in a game this season. Collins is the only wideout with more than two touchdown catches.

“I think the identity for us is we’re one play away from being great and we’re one play away from being just average. And that’s where we are right now,” Richardson said. “There have been a couple of balls that are thrown uncatchable that if they’re thrown catchable, it’s a different ballgame. There’s a couple of balls that have been very catchable that are not caught, and it’s a different ballgame. That comes from the receiver room and the tight end room. Then there’s a couple of plays where we’ve handed it off to Shipley or Mafah and we are one block away and it looks like it’s there and we get a shoestring tackle based off of one block.”

The production through the air has been worse than it’s been at any point this season in recent weeks. Clemson had a season-low 157 passing yards against Syracuse and followed that up with just 191 last week against Notre Dame. Uiagalelei was benched in both of those games for freshman Cade Klubnik, but the quarterbacks have combined to throw as many interceptions as touchdown passes (4) in the last three games.

Those turnovers have been part of another inconsistency for the offense. Clemson has coughed it up six times the last two games after turning it over just five times in the first seven.

“Right now, we’re just in a rut, and we’ve got to find a way to get out of it,” Richardson said.

Given the current state of the passing game, Clemson’s best bet going forward may be to lean on the running game. But Clemson hasn’t always committed to it despite Swinney’s belief in the Tigers needing to use the run to set up the pass.

Clemson did in wins over Florida State and Syracuse, getting Shipley 47 carries in those two games. But even after rushing for a season-high 293 yards against the Orange – and with strong winds swirling inside Notre Dame Stadium – Clemson quickly went away from the running game against the Fighting Irish even before things got out of hand.

Shipley, who’s averaging nearly 6 yards a pop for the season, got just seven carries in the first half despite averaging 7.4 yards on those attempts. And Uiagalelei was hardly used at all in the run game, a peculiar development considering the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder was averaging nearly 44 yards on the ground coming into the game. His first designed run wasn’t called until early in the third quarter.

“I think the biggest reason was sometimes there were calls where he had a run and he threw it, so there were some RPO (run-pass option) thoughts there, too,” offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said afterward. “It was kind of a mixture there, but I probably should’ve gotten him the ball a little bit more as a runner there in the first half.”

So what is the Tigers’ offensive identity? Depends on who you ask.

“Up until two games ago, it was an offense that was really, really good on third down, and we’re still good on third down,” Swinney said. “It’s an offense that was taking care of the football and an offense that was scoring and had some explosiveness built into it. Led the nation in red-zone scoring until a couple of games ago, and I think we’re still top 5 in the country.

“All of those things. But we’ve got to get back to doing what we need to do.”

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Richardson sheds some light on Uiagalelei’s recent struggles

After showing marked improvement during the first half of the season, D.J. Uiagalelei’s dropoff has been swift. Clemson’s quarterback spent the first seven games regaining his confidence following a forgettable 2021 season. Uiagalelei accounted for …

After showing marked improvement during the first half of the season, D.J. Uiagalelei’s dropoff has been swift.

Clemson’s quarterback spent the first seven games regaining his confidence following a forgettable 2021 season. Uiagalelei accounted for 21 touchdowns and just three turnovers in those games, showing better decisiveness and accuracy as a passer while emerging as a legitimate running threat.

His last two performances have been on the other end of the spectrum.

Uiagalelei has accounted for four turnovers and just one touchdown in Clemson’s last eight quarters, averaging 164.5 passing yards in those games. Two of those turnovers led directly to points for the opposition, one being a 90-yard scoop and score for Syracuse and the other a 96-yard pick-six in Notre Dame’s rout last week.

Uiagalelei was benched in both games for true freshman Cade Klubnik, who finished the Syracuse game after coming on in the third quarter. Uiagalelei is in line to start against Louisville this weekend after coming back against Notre Dame and leading a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has suggested the leash will be a shorter one come Saturday afternoon.

Tight ends coach Kyle Richardson, who also works with Uiagalelei as the passing-game coordinator, shared his thoughts earlier this week on what he believes is contributing to the funk Uiagalelei suddenly finds himself in.

“D.J. is the type of kid that he doesn’t want to let people down, and he puts a lot of pressure on himself because of that,” Richardson said. “So I think in some of those situations, he’s looking for the perfect look. He’s looking for the perfect read. He’s looking for the perfect throw, the perfect play. And that just doesn’t exist in football. There’s too much stuff going on offensively that he doesn’t control and that coaches don’t control. And there’s too much going on defensively that nobody controls on the field.”

When Uiagalelei hasn’t been throwing errant passes, some of his indecisiveness has led to sacks that have effectively ended drives for the Tigers. Notre Dame got to him for four sacks last week, many of which Swinney chalked up to coverages sacks that could have been avoided if Uiagalelei had thrown the ball away and lived to play another down.

Richardson said there were times where he asked Uiagalelei what he was seeing once he got back to the sideline after some of those plays. Sometimes what Uiagalelei is seeing on the field and what the coaches are seeing from the sideline are different, so there are times, Richardson said, where Uiagalelei is making the right decision whether it be where he delivers the ball on a called pass play or whether or not to throw it, hand it off or keep it on a run-pass option (RPO).

Of course, those are all split-second decisions that have to be made, something Richardson understands given his background. He coached quarterbacks as a highly successful prep coach at Northwestern High in Rock Hill before initially moving on to Clemson as an offensive support staffer in 2016.

“It’s a really tough position to play,” said Richardson, who coached NFL quarterback Mason Rudolph at Northwestern and worked with Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. “It’s a tough position physically but mentally it’s tougher than any position. So there’s a fine line where you’re not in his head too much and you’re not predetermining how to throw balls and the reads that have to be made because you can’t do that at quarterback. You’ve got to see what’s happening live and you’ve got to see it post-snap.”

It’s not like Uiagalelei hasn’t shown he’s capable of performing at a much higher level. It was just seven weeks ago that he lit up Wake Forest for 371 passing yards and five touchdowns, matching the Demon Deacons score for score in a double-overtime win.

Richardson said coaches can help him, too, by putting him in some better situations. But more than anything, Richardson said, Uiagalelei has to forget about trying to be a perfectionist, trust what he’s seeing on the field and get back to letting it rip.

“That’s probably the biggest thing,” Richardson said. “He’s got to trust himself and trust what he does at practice every day because if he wasn’t the guy, he wouldn’t be playing. He wouldn’t be at this level. He wouldn’t be at Clemson. He wouldn’t have gone to Notre Dame two years ago and did what he did then. He can do it. He’s just got to trust himself, trust his reads and trust his coaching.”

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Richardson: ‘We’re a very average offense’

Clemson’s offense began the season on an upward trajectory. The Tigers started things with 41 points in their opening win against Georgia Tech, more than they scored against any FBS opponent during last season’s yearlong struggle. A few weeks later, …

Clemson’s offense began the season on an upward trajectory.

The Tigers started things with 41 points in their opening win against Georgia Tech, more than they scored against any FBS opponent during last season’s yearlong struggle. A few weeks later, in its ACC opener, Clemson exploded for 51 points and more than 550 yards in a double-overtime over a then-ranked Wake Forest team on the road.

But it’s been a steady decline since that reached a low in an anemic showing against Notre Dame over the weekend. Clemson mustered just 3.3 yards a play through the first three quarters of its 35-14 loss, and its only points came in garbage time after the Fighting Irish already had a four-touchdown lead.

With a season-low 281 yards, it was the fourth time in five games that the Tigers have failed to surpass 370 total yards. Their scoring average has dipped from more than 41 points to 27.2 during that span, and the Tigers have been held to one score or less in six of their last eight quarters.

“Right now, we’re a very average offense,” passing-game coordinator Kyle Richardson said. “And we’re average at all positions.”

Richardson, who also coaches tight ends, said he can’t pinpoint why the offense has suddenly hit a wall, though there have certainly been some glaring contributing factors starting with the quarterback play.

After a hot start that saw him account for 21 touchdowns and just three turnovers through the first seven games, D.J. Uiagalelei has nearly as many turnovers (4) as touchdowns (5) over the last three. He’s been pulled from the last two games, but freshman Cade Klubnik, who threw a pick on his only pass attempt against Notre Dame, hasn’t fared much better in limited action.

Their struggles have contributed to a minus-5 turnover margin for the Tigers over the last two games, a stark contrast from the first half of the season when Clemson turned it over just five times.

“The narrative early in the year was they’re great at the turnover margin and protecting the football,” Richardson said. “The last two weeks, that’s not been the case.”

But Richardson refused to lay all of the blame at the feet of Clemson’s triggermen. Clemson’s primary rotation of receivers (Beaux Collins, Joseph Ngata, Antonio Williams, E.J. Williams, Adam Randall, Brannon Spector) has combined for just 21 receptions over the last three games while the running game has been hit or miss for much of the season.

“There’s a couple of balls that have been very catchable that are not caught, and it’s a different ballgame. That comes from the receiver room and the tight end room,” Richardson said. “Then there are a couple of plays where we’ve handed it off to (Will) Shipley or (Phil) Mafah and we are one block away and it looks like it’s there and we get a shoestring tackle based off of one block. … That’s where we are right now.”

As for how the group gets out of the rut it suddenly finds itself in, Richardson started with a baby-steps sentiment that was eerily similar to one coaches and players voiced in the preseason: Build confidence and go from there.

“We played kind of free there for a while, and I don’t know what’s happened to kind of trigger it back to where you can just tell we’re kind of hesitant,” he said. “And I’m not just talking about quarterback. I’m talking about a lot of areas. We’re just kind of hesitant. Man, just let it loose.

“It’s across the board, and we’ve just got to get that back and get back to being consistent.”

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Richardson on perspective: ‘I’ve sat here and watched this press conference when it was 3-8’

When Kyle Richardson met with the media on Monday, Clemson’s passing game coordinator and tight ends coach tried to put things into perspective after the Tigers’ 35-14 loss to then-unranked Notre Dame last Saturday night. “I know everybody’s upset, …

“I know everybody’s upset, but we’re 8-1,” he said. “I mean, we’re not 5-3, we’re not 4-4. Let me take my Clemson coaching hat off and put my Clemson fan hat on. … I’ve sat here and watched this press conference when it was 3-8. I’ve watched this press conference when it’s 6-5. I’ve watched this press conference when the Tangerine Bowl, we’re dying to go play in the Tangerine Bowl, no offense to the Tangerine Bowl. No offense to the Humanitarian Bowl, but we get a berth to the Humanitarian Bowl, we’re like man, this is awesome. So, we’ve got to keep things into perspective, too.”

Clemson fans aren’t happy about how things turned out for their team in South Bend, and while Richardson isn’t either, he says he won’t feed into the negativity.

“I’m upset with losing. I hate to lose. I don’t care what I got on my chest – I hate to lose,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re 8-1. We went to a Notre Dame team that guess what, they got football coaches too. Guess what, they got a lot of pride too. We played in a tough situation, a tough stadium and we got beat.

“So, I’m not going to get on the negative train. I’m not going to get caught up in the narrative and our players aren’t either, and that’s our job as coaches, too, to make sure our players understand the big picture.”

Richardson added that “everything is still right in front of” the Tigers (8-1, 6-0 ACC), who will finish up the regular season with a three-game homestand beginning with Saturday’s contest against Louisville (6-3, 3-3) at Death Valley (3:30 p.m., ESPN) before playing in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 3.

“I’ve been here for seven years and I’ve walked in this building on a Sunday after a devastating loss to Pittsburgh and the season’s over, just to turn around and go win a national championship about a month and a half later,” said Richardson, who spent the past six years on Clemson’s support staff before starting his first full season in an on-field role this year. “I’ve walked in this building with a devastating loss to Syracuse and it’s over, just to go to the playoff two months later.

“So, nowhere in our building does it say we have to have the number-one rated offense in the country. That’s not a goal. Nowhere in the building does it say we have to go undefeated. It’s not a goal. And when I walk back in the building on Sunday, all our goals are still right in front of us. Everything is still right in front of us, and that’s my mindset.”

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Versatile Georgia TE eyeing return visit to Death Valley

This tight end prospect from the Peach State, closing in on double-digit Power Five offers, made his first-ever gameday visit to Death Valley earlier this season. Milton (Ga.) High School’s Ryan Ghea, a standout sophomore in the class of 2025, …

This tight end prospect from the Peach State, closing in on double-digit Power Five offers, made his first-ever gameday visit to Death Valley earlier this season.

Milton (Ga.) High School’s Ryan Ghea, a standout sophomore in the class of 2025, traveled to Clemson for the 3:30 p.m. game against Furman back on Sept. 10.

“It was just the atmosphere overall,” Ghea said, reflecting on what stood out to him about the gameday visit. “I came for a midday game, and it was practically sold out. And then it was just how Coach (Kyle) Richardson used the tight ends in the passing game.”

Speaking of Richardson, the Tigers’ first-year passing game coordinator and tight ends coach, Ghea said he reached out to his head coach at Milton about Ghea returning to Clemson for another game this season.

According to Ghea, Richardson and the Tigers want him to come back for the Nov. 19 matchup against Miami, and that’s something he plans to do if his team’s playoff schedule permits.

“Working with my parents to get back,” he said. “Our playoffs have been moved to Sat. Waiting to see if this one is too.”

Ghea said the interest from Clemson and fact the Tigers hope to get him back on campus “means a lot” to him.

“Just trying to stay humble in the whole process and just keep my head down and work hard,” he added.

When Ghea visited Clemson for the Furman game, he was able to spend a lot of time with offensive player development coach Tajh Boyd and had some individual time with Richardson as well.

Milton (Ga.) High School 2025 tight end Ryan Ghea with Clemson passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Kyle Richardson

“I like how he envisions me there, like how he thinks that I would fit well with their culture,” Ghea said of Richardson. “When we were talking, he showed me examples of players that are in his tight end room right now that are kind of like me.”

According to Ghea (6-5.5, 220), Richardson likens him to Clemson sophomore tight end Jake Briningstool (6-6, 230).

“He compares me to him because I’m practically almost the same weight he was when he came in and I’m the same height as him,” Ghea said. “So, that’s really how he compared me there.”

How does Ghea describe himself as a tight end?

“I would describe myself as very versatile,” he said, “whether it’s blocking anybody – outside, inside the box – and then being a pass catcher, willing to come out of the backfield, on-the-line tight end, going in the slot, anywhere.”

Ghea has also attended Georgia Tech, Florida State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Cincinnati games this season.

With the exception of South Carolina, all of those schools have offered Ghea, who also owns offers from schools such as Ohio State, NC State, Louisville and Indiana.

It’s still early in the recruiting process for Ghea, and Clemson of course usually doesn’t offer prospects until the summer before their junior year.

“I would definitely, first of all, appreciate the offer. I would consider it,” he said of Clemson. “But I’m still really early with my recruiting. I’m still trying to figure out what will fit for me.”

Multiple things about Clemson stand out to Ghea when he looks at it as a potential college option, should the Tigers pull the trigger on an offer down the road.

“Definitely the atmosphere and how the gamedays are, like how it is on the field, just how it feels,” he said, “and how they use multiple tight ends.”

What will be important to Ghea whenever he makes his college decision in the future?

“Definitely the education for me,” he said. “How the education fits with what I want to do, and how they treat my family and how comfortable I feel there.”

–Photos courtesy of Ryan Ghea

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Clemson in hot pursuit of 4-star Peach State TE

Clemson’s tight end recruiting in the class of 2024 is only getting started and The Clemson Insider has the latest on a name worth monitoring in Carrollton (Ga.) four-star Caleb Odom. TCI recently caught up with Odom, who was one of the top …

Clemson’s tight end recruiting in the class of 2024 is only getting started and The Clemson Insider has the latest on a name worth monitoring in Carrollton (Ga.) four-star Caleb Odom.

TCI recently caught up with Odom, who was one of the top prospects in attendance for Clemson’s 30-20 win over NC State at Death Valley on Saturday, Oct. 1.

“It was crazy,” Odom said in a phone interview recently regarding his visit. “The atmosphere was just electric. It was just insane. I just felt like the crowd was crazy. I don’t know, I’ve never seen something like the pregame, how they roll out of the buses and run down the hill. That kind of stood out to me, definitely the pregame. I just felt like the fans were cheering nonstop. I just felt like it was crazy.”

It was a great game for Clemson to play host to a tight end recruit like Odom because the Tigers’ tight ends, Davis Allen and Jake Briningstool, combined for 75 yards and a touchdown in the win. Allen would also later be named Clemson’s Offensive Player of the Game.

“It was actually crazy,” he said. “I got to talk to Davis Allen before the game. I actually knew him. He went to Calhoun and one of my teachers knew him from a connection. I was able to talk to him for a little bit. Watching them use the tight ends, especially in that game, but also in Wake Forest, they were able to do a lot with them. I like the type of gameplan they have for their tight ends.”

Odom got his first feel for Dabo Swinney’s program as soon as he stepped foot on campus.

“When all the recruits first got there, Coach Swinney gave a big speech,” Odom said. “He was just talking about how Clemson is a place where you’ll be able to build relationships beyond football and just how education is very important. I feel like that was very important to me because it could be a place where I’d be wanting to go as a home.”

Odom has been in constant contact with Kyle Richardson since Sept. 1. It was Clemson’s tight ends coach who extended Odom the invitation to the NC State game and made sure he spoke with him at length during his first trip to The Valley.

“It was good to finally see who I was talking to,” Odom said.

Odom said that his relationship with Richardson is one of the better ones that he currently has and that it was nice to finally put a name to a face.

“He was just telling me that they love what they see on film and stuff,” Odom recalled of his conversation with Richardson. “He was telling me that they take the offer process really slowly. He was gonna give me a call later (last) week, so hopefully it’s good news. He was just telling me that they were glad to have me down.”

According to Odom, Richardson said that he likes his ability as a route runner for his size, standing at 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, but Clemson’s tight ends coach also like his ability to go up and make contested catches.

In any event, Odom did say that Richardson told him that he’s an offer-worthy prospect.

“Hopefully they will offer soon, though, I would really love it,” he said regarding a potential offer from Clemson. “Just knowing how they treat the players outside of football… Just knowing I can be in an environment like that, especially during game days with the crowd. A place like Death Valley is just crazy.”

Odom said he talked to Richardson the other day about getting up for the Clemson-Miami game on Nov. 19.

“I’m definitely gonna try to get back up for that game,” Odom added.

In addition to Clemson, Odom mentions that schools like LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and North Carolina, as well as a lot of other SEC and ACC programs, have been showing extensive interest.

Odom, the nation’s No. 14 overall tight end in the class of 2024, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, is a self-described route-running technician, who hones in on his blocking abilities on the perimeter. He mostly plays receiver at Carrollton, but he’s the type of player that’s gonna get after it on every play.

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Tight ends becoming bigger part of Clemson’s passing game

First-year position coach Kyle Richardson scoffed at the notion this offseason that Clemson seldom uses its tight ends, explaining there’s a lot more to the position than simply being bigger pass-catchers. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney smiled while …

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney smiled while saying this week that his program has always valued the position. He pointed to a couple of his former players at the position, Mackey Award winner Dwayne Allen and Mackey semifinalist Jordan Leggett, as a couple of examples.

While the Tigers’ tight ends may not have been as involved in the passing game in recent years as some of their predecessors, Swinney said the objective is to have the most well-rounded players at the position, something, he added, that’s not easy to find.

“I think it’s the hardest position to play in our offense outside of quarterback from a schematic standpoint because there’s a lot (to the position), and sometimes it just takes some guys a while to do it,” Swinney said. “Some years, you get a guy who’s a better route runner, but he can’t block nobody. Some years, this guy is a better blocker, and you have to kind of piece it together. So it’s nice when you’ve got some guys that can really do it all, and everybody is trying to find those guys and recruit those guys.”

Swinney believes his program’s wait for the complete package to come along again is over with Davis Allen and Jake Briningstool. And while Swinney touted the Tigers’ top two tight ends as players who’ve progressed to the point they can do a little bit of everything at the position, they’ve seen their roles in the passing game increase significantly as of late.

After a three-catch freshman season that Briningstool used primarily to get his feet wet playing behind Allen and then-senior Braden Galloway, the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder has already caught 14 passes as a sophomore, tied with receiver Beaux Collins for second-most on the team. Briningstool has had touchdown receptions in back-to-back games for the first time in his career and had a career-high 72 receiving yards against Wake Forest two weeks ago.

Briningstool, a blue-chip recruit in the 2021 recruiting cycle, was considered one of the nation’s top pass-catching tight ends coming out of Ravenwood (Tennessee) High while Allen has put in four years of work to become the weapon he’s proven to be for first-year offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter. The senior’s 13 receptions through five games are nearly half the amount he had all of last season. Two of those went for touchdowns in the double-overtime win over the Demon Deacons.

Allen and Bringinstool have combined for 18 receptions in the last two games alone, nearly half the amount Clemson’s tight ends had as a whole last season (37). Injuries played a part in that, but Streeter said making a concerted effort to take advantage of man coverage given Allen and Briningstool’s size at the position has also contributed to the increased production.

“It’s a combination of finding matchups, and it’s a combination of having confidence in those guys and lining them up in different ways,” Streeter said.

Clemson has sought out those matchups more often the closer it’s gotten to the end zone. None of the tight ends’ touchdown grabs have been longer than 12 yards the last two weeks. And there have been numerous times when Allen and Briningstool have been on the field simultaneously in 12 personnel – sometimes lining up in the slot at the time – in order to increase the chances of the offense finding a mismatch with at least one of them.

“Whether they’re coming out of the backfield making plays in the passing game or they’re lined up out wide making plays in the passing game, my confidence just continues to grow in that room and what they’ve become as players,” Streeter said.

And because Allen and Briningstool are proving to be more than capable pass-catching threats wherever they line up, Swinney and Streeter both said it’s opened things up for a passing offense that ranks 49th nationally at 261.8 yards per game, nearly 70 yards more than what Clemson averaged last year in that department.

It’s helped the Tigers increase their scoring average from 26.3 points a season ago to 41 this season, second-most in the ACC.

“When you’ve got a guy like (Allen) at the (tight end) position that’s a real factor in the run game and a real factor in the pass game, it opens up everything for everybody else because somebody has got to cover 80 (Collins), 10 (Joseph Ngata) and 0 (Antonio Williams),” Swinney said. “That’s when we’re at our best is when we can do that.”

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‘Pretty cool’ play speaks to Uiagalelei’s growing confidence

In a game full of explosive plays and tense moments, one in particular for Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei stood out from the rest in the eyes of one of his coaches. Uiagalelei had just thrown a touchdown pass to tight end Davis Allen late in …

In a game full of explosive plays and tense moments, one in particular for Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei stood out from the rest in the eyes of one of his coaches.

Uiagalelei had just thrown a touchdown pass to tight end Davis Allen late in the third quarter of the Tigers’ tilt with Wake Forest last week. But with Clemson still trailing 28-26 at the time, the Tigers decided to go for two.

Things didn’t look promising when Uiagalelei dropped back to pass again and the pocket quickly collapsed around him. The Demon Deacons’ edge rushers met Uiagalelei in the backfield, and Jasheen Davis looked as if he might keep Wake Forest ahead as he wrapped his arms around Uiagalelei’s left leg.

But Uiagalelei – all 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds of him – maintained his balance and continued to scan the end zone for an open receiver. Beaux Collins, who had broken off his original route, scampered back into Uiagalelei’s field of vision toward the middle of the field.

“Two points is kind of like fourth down,” Uiagalelei said. “You don’t want the ball to end up in your hands because a two-point conversion is the last play. So I was just trying to be able to stay up and just try not to take a sack.”

So, off one leg, Uiagalelei flipped a pass in the direction of the Tigers’ sophomore wideout, who hauled it in for the tie. Without that conversion, Clemson may be entering this week’s top-10 matchup with N.C. State with a blemish on its record instead of a 4-0 start.

“When they didn’t blow (the play) dead and the result happened the way it was, it ended up being pretty cool,” said Kyle Richardson, Clemson’s first-year passing-game coordinator and tight ends coach.

Richardson said it’s a play that’s emblematic of the kind of confidence Clemson’s veteran quarterback is playing with early in his junior season. After throwing for a season-high 337 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, Uiagalelei is completing better than 64% of his passes and already has 10 touchdown passes, more than he threw all of last season (9).

“That’s just confidence. That’s just trust,” Richardson said. “It’s those two words. He’s a tough guy anyway, so it doesn’t surprise me that he sits in there and is willing to take it on the chin basically.

While the visual of Uiagalelei making a strong, accurate throw with another human being hanging on him “looks cool,” Richardson acknowledged, that wasn’t the most impressive part of that play to him.

“The best part of that to me is his eyes are still downfield going through his progression,” Richardson said. “He’s got stuff all around him, and if you look at that picture, his eyes are still focused on where am I going to deliver this ball? Because I’ve got to make a throw and make a play right here.”

Tar Heel State TE recaps ‘amazing’ gameday visit to Clemson

A talented tight end from the Tar Heel State traveled to Tiger Town for an unofficial visit earlier this month. Weddington High School (Matthews, N.C.) junior Brooks Mauk – a 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect in the class of 2024 – made his way to …

A talented tight end from the Tar Heel State traveled to Tiger Town for an unofficial visit earlier this month.

Weddington High School (Matthews, N.C.) junior Brooks Mauk – a 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect in the class of 2024 – made his way to Clemson for the Furman game on Saturday, Sept. 10.

“The Clemson visit was amazing,” he told The Clemson Insider.

Mauk had been to games at Death Valley before, though it was back when he was much younger, so this marked his first gameday visit to Clemson as a recruit – and he came away very impressed by the environment.

“The atmosphere was crazy!” he said. “Everyone in the football complex was so nice and welcoming. The energy really picked up when the Tiger Walk started. It was cool to watch them walk into the stadium with the fans getting louder and louder.”

The highlight of the visit for Mauk, he said, was spending time with tight ends coach Kyle Richardson and offensive player development coach Tajh Boyd.

Mauk appreciates how Richardson made time to engage in conversation with him, his dad and his brother before the game.

Weddington High School (Matthews, N.C.) 2024 tight end Brooks Mauk (right) with Clemson tight ends coach Kyle Richardson during Mauk’s visit to Clemson Saturday, Sept. 10 (photo courtesy of Mauk on Twitter (@brooks_mauk)

“We were able to spend some good time with Coach Richardson at lunch,” Mauk said. “He went out of his way to spend time with us and that meant a lot. He talked about all of the players in the TE room. Different styles and strengths.”

During the game, Mauk enjoyed watching another Weddington High School product – Clemson sophomore running back Will Shipley – run for a couple of scores in the Tigers’ 35-12 win over the Paladins.

“Loved seeing Will scoring those touchdowns!” he said. “Before I met him, I had heard how hard of a worker he was. He lives and breathes football and it’s really exciting to see him reap the rewards of all of that hard work. There is a lesson for the rest of us in that. He is such a great guy, and he has a huge fan base cheering for him back home!”

Overall, Mauk said the visit gave him a better feel for where he stands with the Tigers in the recruiting process at this point.

“Coach Richardson walked through his plan for the next few years and what he looks for in his tight ends,” Mauk explained. “He likes for them to be physical and that’s kind of my style. He respects the way Coach Capone (Weddington head coach Andy Capone) develops his players physically, mentally and fundamentally for the next level.”

Mauk also made an unofficial visit to Clemson in early March to tour the facilities and take in one of the football team’s spring practices, before returning to campus for the Dabo Swinney Camp in June.

After the Clemson-Furman game visit, Mauk went to Coastal Carolina for its game against Buffalo the following weekend.

–Photos courtesy of Brooks Mauk on Twitter (@brooks_mauk)

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