‘He Might Be as Good of a Kid as We’ve Ever Signed at That Position’ - Swinney Has Extremely High Praise for True Freshman TE

Dabo Swinney loves Clemson’s tight end room, calling it “one of the best rooms on our team, from top to bottom.”

And the Tigers’ head coach certainly loves the talented true freshman in that tight end room.

Following Thursday’s scrimmage at Memorial Stadium, Swinney had extremely high praise for Christian Bentancur, the former blue-chip recruit who enrolled at Clemson this summer after signing with Swinney’s program last December.

“I tell ya, Bentancur, man – he might be as good of a kid as we’ve ever signed at that position,” Swinney said. “I mean, that’s pretty strong praise. We’ve got a strong room.”

Before coming to Clemson, Bentancur was a unanimous four-star and consensus top 125-prospect nationally, according to the major recruiting services.

A two-year team captain and three-time all-area selection who earned all-state honors from multiple services as a junior and senior, Bentancur concluded his prep career at Marian Central Catholic High School (Woodstock, Illinois) with 231 receptions for 3,867 yards and 51 touchdowns — finishing in the top five in Illinois high school history in receiving yards (second), receiving touchdowns (third) and receptions (fifth).

Swinney couldn’t help but smile when speaking about Bentancur, with Swinney saying he is going to really enjoy coaching the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder over the course of his Clemson career.

“That kid, he’s gonna be a fun one,” Swinney said. “He’s going to be a fun one to coach and watch develop. He’s just a natural player.”

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