Freshman Focus: Sage Ennis

By Makenna Biehl

    Joining the Clemson football team is not only a great player but also a versatile one. Sage Ennis is joining the Tigers in the tight end position but he has high school experience playing defensive end, and even starting as quarterback his sophomore year. “Ever since middle school, people wanted me to play quarterback and at times I would, but I didn’t want to. Sophomore year, we had no one else. I had a decent year, but I love wide receiver and tight end,” said Ennis. This allows Ennis to not only have versatility, but it also gives him a deeper knowledge of the game. Starting out the first two years of his high school career he played for Graceville High School in Graceville, Florida, but he then realized if he wanted to get in the eye of recruiters and actually get to catch the ball then he would need to transfer schools. “I realized after my sophomore year it would be hard to get recruited in Graceville. I had to leave my family. It worked out to come over here. I don’t regret it. It has paid off for sure,” said Ennis.

    His decision to transfer landed him at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida. While there he finished up his career as a tight end where he recorded 113 receptions for 1,783 yards and 17 touchdowns. His talent in the tight end position ranked him as the fifth H-Back/TE in the nation byESPN.com. Transferring ending up being a good thing for him because he scored offers from Florida State, Penn State, NC State, UCF, and Louisville, but in the end the final decision for him was smalltown Clemson. “Going into the spring game, I really wanted FSU. I loved being there and being around them. But when I was there, I never got that ‘home’ feeling. When I went to Clemson, it was home. It was out in the country, not a big city,” said Ennis.

    Ennis committed to the team in June of 2019, and then later officially signed that December. He began practicing with the team in the spring because he enrolled in Clemson in early January, and the coaching staff has high hopes for his career at Clemson. “Sage, he’s another kid who’s a raw, athletic kid who has a toughness quality to him that I like. He also has the ability to be a good route-runner. So, we look forward to getting him in our program. He’s already in school, and look forward to seeing him develop this offseason,” said tight end coach, Danny Pearman.