Senior tight end Davis Allen spoke exclusively with The Clemson Insider following the Tigers’ heartbreaking 31-14 Orange Bowl loss to the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium and expressed the silver lining among the sadness that was his last game in the Clemson uniform.
“The future is extremely bright,” Allen told TCI. “The tight ends have come a long way.”
Indeed, what a long way they have come. Since Allen’s freshman year, Clemson’s tight-end room has become more and more of a factor in the Tigers’ offensive scheme, accounting for nearly 50% of Clemson’s receiving touchdowns this season (10) and roughly 25% of receptions (67) and receiving yards (748 yards).
In the tight end’s rookie season back in 2019, Allen’s position room produced just 26 receptions (8% of team total) for 239 yards (6% of team total) and no touchdowns, though that would soon change with the Calhoun, Georgia native seeing the field more and more. In 2020, Clemson’s tight ends recorded 50 receptions for 664 yards and seven touchdowns, four of which were thanks to Allen.
Moving into his junior season in 2021, Allen and the Tigers’ tight-end room continued to bring meaningful offensive production to the field with 37 receptions for 304 yards and four touchdowns, which included Allen’s three receiving touchdowns that tied for the team lead that season.
Now under new tight ends coach and passing-game coordinator Kyle Richardson, Clemson’s tight ends saw another prolific season despite a tough outcome… a season where Allen and sophomore Jake Briningstool became the first tight-end duo in Clemson history to each record four touchdown receptions in a single season.
“A big thanks to coach Richardson and what he’s done and what he’s poured into us,” Allen said. “I think it was just a combination of leadership and we really came together. I think this was, I mean, I am very confident when I say that this is the closest we’ve been. We enjoyed working with each other every day and that just kind of showed on the field.”
As for what’s to come for this tight-end room, Allen says the future is “extremely bright” with guys like Briningstool, Sage Ennis, Josh Sapp and incoming freshmen Olsen Patt Henry and Markus Dixon set to take the field for the Tigers in 2023.
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