Tag: Sage Ennis

Clemson dips into ‘bayou’ for rare type of score

Late in the second quarter of their win over No. 10 Wake Forest, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his offensive coordinator, Tony Elliott, couldn’t help but think about their former running back. Travis Etienne, who’s now with the Jacksonville …

Late in the second quarter of their win over No. 10 Wake Forest, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his offensive coordinator, Tony Elliott, couldn’t help but think about their former running back.

Travis Etienne, who’s now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, left Clemson after last season as the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, but for years, the Tigers practiced using Etienne as a passer to catch defenses napping. Swinney said Clemson installed a play called “bayou” — an ode to Etienne’s home state of Louisiana — where Etienne would take the direct snap out of a jumbo package and act like he was going to run before pulling up for a jump pass ala Tim Tebow at Florida.

Problem is, Clemson never found the right time to call it during Etienne’s four years with the Tigers. On Saturday, they finally dialed it up.

“Somewhere Travis Etienne is not happy with me right now,” Swinney said afterward.

The Tigers built a quick 10-0 lead before the Demon Deacons cut into it with a field goal early in the second quarter. Looking to respond, Clemson drove to Wake’s 1-yard line in eight plays on its ensuing possession. The Tigers ran for 46 of the 70 yards needed to get there and stayed on the ground on the next two snaps, but freshman running back Will Shipley was stuffed for no gain on first down before quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei’s keeper lost a yard on second, bringing up third-and-goal for the Tigers at the 2.

The situation, Swinney thought, called for dipping into the bayou.

“The heavy boys package has been Coach Swinney’s package for several years since we had (former defensive tackle) Christian (Wilkins), and we’ve been working on that particular play for a while,” Elliott said. “Coach is like, ‘Hey, if we get into this certain situation in the game, let’s run it.’”

Uiagalelei and Shipley lined up in the backfield with tight ends Davis Allen and Sage Ennis on the field. To sell a run to Wake Forest even harder, Clemson also put a pair of defensive linemen, Ruke Orhorhoro and Myles Murphy, in the backfield as blockers.

Uiagalelei motioned out wide before the snap, leaving Shipley directly behind center. He took the snap and darted toward the line of scrimmage before pulling up to loft a pass toward Allen, who tried to release toward the back of the end zone after initially selling a block, though Wake linebacker Jaylen Hudson, who was responsible for Allen in coverage, wasn’t fooled.

It didn’t matter. Allen extended over Hudson and got one hand on the ball before securing it with both on his way to the ground to give Clemson a 17-3 lead with 5 minutes, 15 seconds left in the second quarter.

“What a play,” Swinney said. “Shipley kind of gets (the pass) up there. It’s just kind of a pop-pass jump ball and trying to affect them with a little quarterback motion there. It was a great play and a great finish.”

It was Clemson’s first touchdown thrown by a player other than a quarterback since Sammy Watkins tossed a 52-yard score to fellow receiver Andre Ellington at Florida State in 2012. The right play at the right time helped the Tigers maintain their lead the rest of the way after Wake scored its first touchdown on its next possession. 

Clemson answered that with Kobe Pace’s 8-yard touchdown run following a turnover early in the third quarter. The Tigers maintained a multi-score advantage from then on in their most prolific offensive performance of the season, leading by as many as 25 points at one point.

“We’ve had it for a while just trying to find the right opportunity,” Elliott said. “Shipley came in and showed he was able to execute it. Just happy for those guys.”

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Freshman TE was ‘ready to step up’ when his number was called

Even though Clemson removed the redshirt from Jake Briningstool this season, it began to appear that he would have a better shot at contributing in his sophomore campaign. That was until Sage Ennis got banged up during the second half of Clemson’s …

Even though Clemson removed the redshirt from Jake Briningstool this season, it began to appear that he would have a better shot at contributing in his sophomore campaign.

That was until Sage Ennis got banged up during the second half of Clemson’s 44-7 win over UConn Saturday, opening the door for the true freshman tight end to make some plays.

And, that he did.

“For me, it’s just really about trusting the process and I’m just waiting for my time to come,” Briningstool said postgame. “Unfournatley, Sage went down, but I was happy for the opportunity and I was ready to step up whenever they needed me and I’m ready for whatever more is to come.”

Briningstool has clearly started to win over his coaches. They’ve begun to trust him more, which was apparent in Saturday’s win when he was getting on the field during running situations and third downs.

“I think so. “I think that’s the main thing that when I came in January, was the main thing I’ve been working on to get better,” Briningstool said. “Coach [Tony] Elliott has really helped me out in that area. And, following Davis’ [Allen] lead and those other guys, just everything they can do to help me out from a technique standpoint…has really, really made me become a lot better and I feel like they definitely trust me.”

Being more intentional with his blocking has led to more opportunities for Briningstool, including his first career touchdown grab on Saturday.

With 3 minutes and 36 seconds left in the game, walk-on quarterback Billy Wiles looked for Briningstool in the end zone. The true freshman tight end went up and got it. Touchdown.

“The play was pretty much called as a jump ball to go to me,” he said. “So, I was just glad that I got that opportunity and I was glad I gotta execute and put some points on the board for the Tigers.”

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Ennis recalls getting ‘rag-dolled’: ‘I never wanted it to happen again’

After tight end Davis Allen received a targeting penalty and was consequentially ejected in the first quarter of the game against Boston College, Clemson was forced to utilize its depth at this position. Senior Braden Galloway was also out with a …

After tight end Davis Allen received a targeting penalty and was consequentially ejected in the first quarter of the game against Boston College, Clemson was forced to utilize its depth at this position.

Senior Braden Galloway was also out with a concussion, so the next man up was redshirt freshman Sage Ennis.

At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, Ennis is a suitable tight end, and had his first career catch, gaining 8 yards for Clemson against BC on Saturday, Oct. 2.

“I pray to God every day to give me the strength to give great effort and be able to capitalize on the opportunity,” Ennis said.

With Ennis having limited experience on the field, the leadership of Allen and Luke Price on the sidelines during the BC game helped Ennis navigate certain situations.

“I’m right next to Braden in the locker room, so I’m always trying to get in his ear,” Ennis said. “But being able to have Luke and Davis to talk to and ask them questions, and to reassure myself that I was doing the right thing, was really big just to have that leadership there on the sidelines.”

During the bye week in preparation for this Friday’s game at Syracuse, Ennis focused on his leverage and worked on blocking.

“Everybody likes a tall tight end but that comes with some curses,” he said. “You gotta get lower than the other guy, especially when you’re 6-4, 6-5, against linebackers that are 6-1, 6-2. It’s all about a game of leverage, so I just tried to work on preparation and film and know how they’re gonna attack.”

Ennis recalls how when he enrolled early at Clemson in January 2020, he was caught off guard by the strength and size of the defense he was facing in practice consisting of guys like Xavier Thomas and Myles Murphy.

“I remember one time I got rag-dolled around and I wasn’t used to that,” Ennis said. “I remember looking back at Coach (Danny) Pearman like, ‘What in the world is going on?’ I just wasn’t used to that. When that happened, I never wanted it to happen again. I didn’t want to get manhandled, so from then on I made it a choice and a priority to make sure that I was going to put myself in the best situation and learn from others, and continue to get stronger and understand the blocking game better.”

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Offense’s focus simple heading to Syracuse

The stats indicate Clemson’s offense still has a ways to go. Some of the Tigers’ players, however, are holding steadfast in their belief there’s not as far to go as one might think. “We’re right there,” quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei said. The Tigers’ …

The stats indicate Clemson’s offense still has a ways to go. Some of the Tigers’ players, however, are holding steadfast in their belief there’s not as far to go as one might think.

“We’re right there,” quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei said.

The Tigers’ offensive production — or lack thereof at times — continues to be a major talking point in Clemson’s season, and those involved with it continue to be adamant that the nation’s 112th-ranked scoring offense is close to turning things around. After the Tigers’ most recent outing, there’s been a particular focus as the offense enters its second week of preparation for Friday’s game at Syracuse.

“There’s a lot of things for us to love out there that we see on film,” offensive tackle Jordan McFadden said. “We’ve just got to go finish.”

What turned up on film was the most tangible evidence yet that Clemson’s offense could be closer to breaking through than the overall stats might suggest. In their 19-13 win over Boston College — the most regulation points they’ve scored against an FBS opponent this season — the Tigers rolled up 438 total yards with 231 of those coming on the ground, good for the second-highest outputs all season in those categories. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said a lot of it had to do with improved execution along an offensive line that ran out its third different starting lineup in five games.

Five of Clemson’s seven drives into Boston College territory reached, at minimum, the 25-yard line. The problem was the Tigers’ execution the closer they got to the goal line. Only Kobe Pace’s long touchdown run early in the first quarter, which started on Clemson’s side of midfield, reached the end zone.

The other four possessions ended with a B.T. Potter field goal.

“I feel like, against Boston College, the only thing we didn’t do was score touchdowns,” McFadden said. “I think that’s the next step for us, putting the ball in the end zone. We moved the ball all the way down the field and then we’d kick a field goal. We’d stall out.”

Uiagalelei said periods in practice during the bye week were dedicated to finishing drives in the end zone.

“Even though B.T. is a great kicker, we want to be able to turn those field goals into touchdowns, especially when we get into the red zone,” Uiagalelei said.

Those kind of struggles were atypical of how Clemson has generally performed when it’s had opportunities deep in opponent territory. The Tigers have converted more than 82% of their red-zone trips into points — and usually six instead of three. Of their 14 red-zone scores, 11 have been touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Syracuse is allowing 24 points a game with its red-zone defensive splits being nearly down the middle. Opponents have scored 19 times on 23 red-zone trips against the Orange. Ten of those have been touchdowns.

Tight end Sage Ennis said Syracuse does a lot of “flying around” defensively. Specifically, he noticed a good bit of run blitzing from the Orange in their overtime loss to Wake Forest last week. Selling out to stop the run could create more one-on-one matchups in the passing game for Clemson, which the Tigers saw a lot from Boston College given how effectively they ran the ball against the Eagles.

Uiagalelei overthrew nearly every deep balls in those situations, something he and Swinney said has to get corrected to help increase the Tigers’ chances of finishing drives in the end zone.

“At the end of the day, we’ve just got to be prepared because they do have a lot of movement,” Ennis said.

If the Tigers can finish against Syracuse, the offense’s tune might change from talking about what could’ve been to what was.

“I think last week (against Boston College) was just a glimpse of what we can do,” McFadden said. “I’m excited to see what we do Friday. I’m expecting big things.”

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