Clemson Football received their third verbal commitment of the Class of 2023 today.
Tight end Christian Bentancur announced his commitment to the Tigers. He is 6’-5” and 240 pounds. He plays for Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock, Illinois.
Bentancur is the 102nd ranked player nationally in his class in the 247Composite. He is the 4th ranked tight end nationally.
Bentancur’s finalists were Clemson, Ohio State and Oregon. He had scholarship offers from 38 schools, including Michigan, Tennessee and LSU.
2024 TE Christian Bentancur Commits to Clemson https://t.co/LSXeScoEt1 via @jp_priester
— Jason Priester (@JP_Priester) January 13, 2023
If you Google Bentancur’s Hudl page, the first highlights you will find are basketball. He is a multi-sport athlete, which is a characteristic that Clemson values.
Once you scroll down the page a little bit, you will find Bentancur’s junior season highlights. He usually lines up for Marian at wide receiver. Given his height, he obviously has an advantage over smaller corners. Once he catches the ball, he obviously is difficult to bring to the ground at 240 pounds.
In his video, you will see Bentancur line up wide and in the slot, and you will often see him going into motion. One of the things I noticed is that he is very good at establishing position against the defense, and his quarterback is good at putting the ball where only Bentancur can catch the ball.
The one thing I don’t see much of in these highlights is blocking. Since Bentancur lines up mostly at receiver, we don’t see any examples of him needing to take on a defensive end or a blitzing linebacker.
Bentancur will be a recruit with tremendous upside for Clemson Football, but might need time to develop his blocking skills
This does indicate to me that Bentancur might get some playing time as a freshman behind Bringinstool, but his ability to pick up blocking (and thus not being a liability to his quarterback or running back) will dictate if it is more that a few snaps in less than five games. Despite his obvious upside, he might be a redshirt candidate.
Bentancur is Clemson’s third commitment for the Class of 2024, following cornerback Tavoy Feagin and kicking specialist Nolan Hauser. Clemson is hosting several prospects on January 28th for their Elite Junior Day, with goal to further their relationships with the prospects as they move into the summer before their senior seasons.