5 Clemson Football freshmen who are sleepers in 2024

Christian Bentancur

If Jones is the talented incoming freshman on the defensive side who isn’t getting a lot of hype because he isn’t perceived as an immediate need, his counterpart on the offensive side is tight end prospect Bentancur.

He played high school ball at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, Illinois. He was one of the earliest commitments to the Class of 2024, announcing his selection in January 2023. He is a 4-star prospect who 247Sports ranks 74th in the nation.

Here is what 247Sports’ Allen Trieu said about Bentancur when he wrote his assessment:

"Highly productive high school player on both sides of the ball. Excels at coming down with contested passes. Can split out like a wide receiver and shows comfort in space and with tracking the ball over his shoulder. Does not play in-line as much but size and his physicality on defense suggest he will be able to do it."

- Allen Trieu

Jake Briningstool is returning for his senior season and, like Mafah, he will receive the majority of the tight end snaps. After Briningstool there is Josh Sapp, Olsen Patt Henry, and Markus Dixon.

I think that most people see Bentancur as the future at the position because he has one dimension to his game that Briningstool has struggled to attain: physicality. Bentancur might have to learn some of the finer points of blocking but his experience playing defense suggests to the scouts that he has the potential to be a much bigger physical presence than Briningstool.

Learning the blocking could take a season, especially since Trieu noted Bentancur didn’t line up as a traditional tight end as often as he would at Clemson.

Or he could be a quick study. If he could be as good as Briningstool as a receiver and be a better blocker, then he could ascend the depth chart quickly.

Next: Hevin Brown-Shuler