Last season, Clemson rotated tight end duties between Milan Richard and Garrett Williams. Richard graduated and used up his eligibility while Williams moved on from football after his graduation.

Sophomore Braden Galloway showed promise at the position in his freshman season but he is ineligible to play this season because of a positive test for a trace amount of Ostarine in his system prior to the Cotton Bowl. Clemson appealed the one-year ban, but the NCAA held its ground and he is not available to play in the 2019 regular season.

Now space has opened up for projected starter junior J.C. Chalk, grandson of head coach Dabo Swinney’s college coach at Alabama, Gene Stallings. His primary role on the team so far has been as a run blocker and he has four catches for 40 yards so far, but Swinney thinks Chalk flipped the switch this summer.

“He is a guy I’m really pleased with, I think it hit him right between the eyes this summer,” Swinney said. “He really worked his tail off and changed his body composition.”

Chalk lost over 15 pounds this summer and stuck to a strict diet to get his body where it needed to be. Now, he is ready to step into a leadership role in the young tight end room.

Swinney noticed a difference in Chalk’s demeanor when he returned to campus this summer.

“He’s a smooth guy with nice hands but he’s gotten a lot more serious and just carries himself like a veteran even though we don’t have any veterans,” Swinney said.

While the transition to being a veteran may have sneaked up on Chalk, he has embraced the new role with open arms. He feels like his time at Clemson is flying by but is encouraged by the energy younger players are bringing to the program.

“I definitely have had to step up and be mature,” Chalk said. “It’s funny, I don’t feel like that but then guys that are 18 and 19 get here, but I love the joy they bring to playing the game of football.”

There are still a lot of questions surrounding the wide receiver position and it is definitely a pivotal spot that would add another dimension to the already dominant Clemson offense in the middle of the field.

The Tigers have not had a dominant tight end since Jordan Leggett wrapped up his career on the 2016 national championship team.

“It’s funny, people back home ask what our group really is going to be like,” Chalk said. “And it’s funny, every guy in that room really likes to work, nobody is lazy we have a lot of hard heads that like to work and people brush them off but we have a lot of guys who can contribute.”