Briningstool happy to have the record, would rather have a win

Jake Briningstool gathers in a catch against Miami (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Oct 24 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Jake Briningstool set a Clemson record Saturday against Miami, a moment that was bittersweet for a team-first player.

Briningstool broke Jordan Leggett's tight end receiving yards mark with 126 yards on five catches with two touchdowns in Clemson’s 28-20 loss to Miami. Leggett's tally was 122 yards versus Florida State in 2016. Briningstool also recorded his first multi-touchdown game and brought his touchdown total to three on the season and eight for his career.

He was targeted a career-high 10 times and averaged 25.2 yards per catch. PFF graded him at 90.7 as a receiver and a team-best 87 mark for the game. The grade was his best as a starter (he graded at 89.1 versus UConn as a freshman in 27 snaps).

Briningstool shared his thoughts on the record while talking to the media on Monday.

“Yeah, it was a tough one. I'm a team-first guy, so I'd rather take a W over any individual stats any day,” he said. “We have a sign that hangs up in the tight end room called Be Big, Play Big. That's like our motto when we take the field every game. It felt good to get some opportunities to use my size, and it worked out.”

What does it mean to Be Big, Play Big?

“I think just me personally, it just means use my length, use what God blessed me with, and use it as a match-up problem,” Briningstool said. “Even in the run game, just using my length, my arms, and stuff like that, playing with my hands. I think just using my strengths to be my strengths is what it means most to me.”

Briningstool used his size for the game’s first touchdown, a 32-yard pass down the seam.

“I was happy that Cade threw it up. I'm glad he trusted me to make that play, and he put the ball in a great spot,” he said. “He made it easier on me to make the catch. It wasn't as difficult as maybe it might have looked. But just being able to use my size and make the most of the opportunity really helped us out.”

Clemson fans and coaches have been waiting for Briningstool to break out.

“Yeah, it just happened to be that this game is the game that it happened,” Briningstool said. “All season long, we've been trying to do it, but I think this game was really where I got a lot of opportunities to catch balls down the field. That's something that I personally wanted more of, to be more involved, like downfield passing and more of a vertical threat. It just happened that this week was the week that we got it done. We'll be able to keep it going, going forward.”