Jake Briningstool, TE, Clemson
Size:
Height: 6055
Weight: 241
Arm: 31 ½”
Hand: 8 ⅝”
Accomplishments:
Third-Team All-ACC (2023) • Four-star recruit
“Jake Briningstool is a highly skilled and athletic tight end prospect who blends a strong athletic profile with height, catch radius, and route-running to become an NFL offense’s mismatch-creator.”
Strengths:
Vertical/seam threat
Build-up speed
Big frame and catch radius
Red-zone threat
Movement/mismatch TE
Concerns:
Creating yards after the catch
Using body to trap passes
Twitch and explosiveness
Film Analysis:
Jake Briningstool has played for three different offensive coordinators during his career with Clemson, displaying his football IQ and ability to retain information. In Garrett Riley’s Air Raid/spread offense, Briningstool operates as their TE1, tasked with aligning in multiple positions and creating potential one-on-one mismatches. He boasts NFL size and catch radius to make plays right when the QB is wrong. He is adept at lining up in the slot and working as a “Power Slot” receiver. Briningstool impacts both run and passing games due to his multi-faceted skillset.
Briningstool wins with good route-running and route tempo. He is good at selling blocks, lulling his defenders to sleep before running past them to open/uncovered grass in the secondary. He is a big, athletic weapon who thrives in the middle of the field and up the seams against smaller, less athletic defenders. Linebackers are typically too small and cannot match up athletically, to deal with his vertical speed and frame. On the other hand, safeties are athletic enough but lack the size to battle with Briningstool at the catch point. He is great at boxing out those smaller defenders, creating easier windows for his QB to test confidently. Briningstool’s alignment versatility is a huge advantage for his play-caller—he can be sent in motion pre-snap and play out of the slot or outside by the sideline. By doing this, Briningstool will find himself in favorable matchups or create them for his teammates. He makes plays after the catch by working into the void of the defense’s coverage and with his size and strength. Briningstool has strong contact balance and leg drive to fight through tackles or stay upright as he pushes forward for more yards.
His football IQ and coverage recognition are great. Briningstool quickly identifies the post-snap coverage before locating and settling into soft spots as a big target for Cade Klubnik to target. In the middle of the field, he is comfortable working and controlling the defense’s attention to free up deeper targets behind them.
Briningstool is a pretty solid blocker from multiple alignments. He works as a slice blocker on split flow actions and as a perimeter lead blocker. However, he is a plus seal blocker from inline versus DL, using his frame to shield them from the ball-carrier on the perimeter.
Creating quick yards after the catch and forcing missed tackles are a concern with Briningstool’s profile. He lacks the wiggle and quick elusiveness to break a defender down in space one-on-one—he is going to win that exchange off of strength and aggressiveness. Being a consistent hands-catcher will help his stock for the 2025 NFL Draft. He tends to allow the ball into his frame to trap it against his body. Briningstool lacks the dominant eye-popping statistics due to inconsistent offensive efficiency and QB play.
Briningstool projects as a skilled volume-pass-catching tight end. He will create mismatches and work as a coverage indicator for the QB pre-snap. With the combination of size, catch radius, and athleticism, he will be a red zone weapon for an NFL offense. He has the ability/skill set to be a productive TE1 on Sundays.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Adequate Starter
Written By: Damian Parson
Exposures: Miami (2023), NC State (2023), Kentucky (2023), Florida State (2023), Duke (2023)
