There may not be a tight end on Clemson’s football team more physically gifted than Jaelyn Lay, an athletic 6-foot-6, 270-pound freshman.

Lay enrolled last January, and the Tigers thought for some time that they were going to need him to contribute immediately this season with Braden Galloway serving a one-year suspension.

However, Clemson ultimately made the call to redshirt Lay, and tight ends coach Danny Pearman says it has been a positive year for his development.

“Jaelyn’s been a pleasant surprise,” Pearman told The Clemson Insider recently. “He came here, has worked extremely hard. We were close to playing him this year, especially with Braden being out, but as it got down the stretch we decided to redshirt him, and he bought into that and has worked hard. Then once Braden’s gotten back in the last month or so of practice, he’s moved over to the scout team and planning on redshirting him. But he’s done well as far as that goes.”

Lay was able to appear in four games thanks to the NCAA’s redshirt rule. The former four-star prospect from Atlanta played 46 total snaps and caught a 20-yard pass in his college debut against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.

A raw talent coming out of Riverdale High School, where he was exclusively a wide receiver, Lay took advantage of his first year with the Tigers to hone his craft as a tight end.

“He’s become more polished,” Pearman said. “He hasn’t gotten a lot of significant reps as far as in practice as much here in the last month or so. But prior to that, he was doing extremely well.”

In high school, Lay was ranked as one of the top five tight ends or H-Backs in the nation by ESPN and Rivals.

He clearly has a lot of potential, and Pearman looks forward to seeing him progress over the coming years at Clemson.

“His skillset – he is a big, raw athlete,” Pearman said. “When I say big, he’s a 270-pound kid that’s pretty nifty and moves around, and look forward to seeing him after a year in the offseason program and another season in our winter conditioning and spring football.”

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