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Associated Press

Clemson tight end Brian Linthicum (88) reacts after catching a touchdown pass against Florida State last season at Memorial Stadium in Clemson.

CLEMSON — They don’t get much glory with weapons like Cullen Harper, James Davis and C.J. Spiller constantly turning heads for the Clemson offense, but for the first time during the Tommy Bowden era, the Tigers are sitting pretty at the tight end position.

And while talent has sporadically sprung up at the position during Bowden’s 10-year tenure, Clemson plans on fully utilizing it this season.

Returning to this year’s squad are veteran tight ends in Brian Linthicum, Michael Palmer and Akeem Robinson, who have combined to start 30 games during their careers.

Also in the thick of things are Durrell Barry, a junior who caught a touchdown pass in the 2006 Music City Bowl, and true freshman Dwayne Allen, a four-star prospect coming out of Fayetteville, N.C.

Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden said following his team’s scrimmage at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday that he has never had such depth at the tight end position, mainly due to the type of offense the Tigers used to employ prior to the arrival of current offensive coordinator Rob Spence.

“I couldn't recruit them because we didn't use them,” Bowden said. “They wouldn't come here even if we wanted to try to get one.”

The only notable exception for Bowden was Ben Hall, who lettered from 2001-2004, and was typically thought to be underused given his size and athletic ability.

But with the wealth of talent at the position now, Spence, who took over the offense in 2005, is hoping to use all of his weapons at tight end to create headaches for opposing defenses.

“It's a luxury, but we still have to line up with just 11 people,” he said. “We really have to just put the best 11 on the field every time and try to utilize the different personnel to get matchups.”

The personnel Spence has at his disposal is varied, with Linthicum as a receiving threat, Robinson as a blocker and Palmer serving as a mix of the two. On the flip side, Robinson has yet to catch a pass in his 493 career snaps, while Barry hauled in only one reception last season in 31 snaps.

Palmer, a junior, has said that despite the discrepancies in the various tight ends, the competition has been solid throughout August, which has helped the group become better as a whole.

“This is my third year here, and this is the deepest we've been at tight end without a doubt,” he said. “We have six guys that can definitely play, and competition is always a good thing. It always brings out the best in everybody and everybody's working really hard.”

Linthicum, a sophomore who hauled in three touchdowns last season, agreed and said the camaraderie the tight ends share has been a big help for everyone.

“We're all pretty tight, so we really just push each other to get better and we've really come along this year,” he said.

And despite being the youngest of the returning tight ends, Bowden has praised Linthicum, who has had an impressive showing throughout preseason camp following a freshman campaign that saw him start five games and log 401 snaps.

“He's really, really stepped up with his maturity and toughness,” Bowden said. “Not that he wasn't a tough guy, but that's a position that requires a lot.”

In addition to toughness, versatility seems like a must-have commodity for the Tigers’ tight ends, as there are plans in place for them to be doing some time in the backfield.

Chad Diehl, who broke his leg in the third game against Furman last season, is also technically listed as a tight end, but will also largely be used as a fullback, in addition to Palmer and Linthicum.

Linthicum said most of the tight ends have worked in the backfield during practice, which has been a pretty smooth transition away from the front line.

“I find it more comfortable (than being on the line of scrimmage),” Linthicum said. “Some of our guys like Akeem and Palmer do find more comfort blocking on the line, but players like me, Chad and Durrell, we all enjoy being in the backfield, going in motion and blocking. It comes a little easier to us I guess.”

The crown jewel of the group, however, could be Allen, who was rated as the No. 83 overall prospect in the country by ESPN.com out of high school.

It’s not known whether or not he’ll redshirt his freshman season, but Spence left that door wide open on Tuesday.

“We don't know,” he said. “That's still to be determined, but it looks like he'd have a pretty good chance (to play).”

Should Allen factor into the mix at tight end, Clemson’s already entrenched superstars might not be the only thing opposing defenses will have to worry about this season.