Clemson Season Preview: Rushing offense

Phil Mafah and Will Shipley are set to be one of the most dynamic running back duos in the nation this season.

by Ryan Kantor - Contributor - Mon Aug 07 13:34:10 GMT-04:00 2023

The offseason feels particularly long and arduous whenever a football season ends with a loss. That has certainly been the case this year, but with a new offensive coordinator and a new QB set to start the season, it has also been filled with optimism.

The Tigers’ offense fell below expectations for a second-straight season. While the rushing offense (47th in yards per game) was better than the passing offense (66th in YPG), it still left much to be desired. With their top two running backs and four of five offensive line starters returning, there’s good reason to believe the Tigers will become a very dangerous running team in 2023.

Last season, defenses stacked the box and focused on the run game because the passing attack offered little explosive play threat. Even when the ground game continued working despite that, the coaching staff often moved away from it to “take what the defense was giving them.” The hope is that the new scheme OC Garrett Riley is installing will bring that explosiveness back to the passing game and, in turn, make life easier on the running backs.

The “Dirt Raid” offense, as O-Line Coach Thomas Austin called it, certainly has talent at running back to work with. Both Will Shipley and Phil Mafah return after combining for 1,697 rushing yards a season ago. Shipley led the way with 1,185 yards (5.6 YPC) on 210 carries for 15 TDs. Mafah had 515 yards (5.3 YPC) on 98 carries and four TDs while posting the highest PFF grade on the entire offense.

This year the two could – and I would suggest they should – have a more equitable split of the carries. The team’s strength at running back may alleviate a lack of depth at wide receiver. The hope is that Will Shipley, who only had 242 receiving yards, could be used more extensively in the passing game – getting both of the Tigers’ star running backs more touches in the process. To that end, Riley said Shipley will be “asked to do quite a few different things in our offense.”

If there’s one area for the dynamic duo to improve, it is turning the 15 and 20-yard runs into 50-yard TDs. Another offseason of training may be just what was needed to get that extra step and turn good plays into great ones.

Helping their cause is the return of four of five offensive linemen. Blake Miller started at right tackle and, despite some freshman moments, had a stellar season. He returns with a full season as starter now under his belt. To his left, Walker Parks had somewhat of a down season transitioning to guard, but now returns healthy with a year of experience at the new position. Will Putnam returns for his fifth season thanks to the NCAA COVID-waiver. Last year was his first at center and like Parks, he’ll now benefit from a year of experience at a new spot. Marcus Tate returns from a late-season injury to start at left guard for a third season.

Left tackle Jordan McFadden was selected by the Chargers in the fifth round of the NFL draft and is the lone departure from the starting O-line. In an ideal world, the battle to replace him would come down to two former high-level prospects, Tristan Leigh and Collin Sadler. Leigh is a redshirt sophomore who came to Clemson as a five-star prospect out of Virginia. He is a big body at 6-foot-6 and 315 lbs. Sadler is also 6-foot-6 and weighs in at 325 lbs. He was a high four-star out of Greenville, South Carolina.

Regardless of who wins that battle, it sounds like both will get plenty of snaps. In fact, Swinney said he hopes to play ten offensive linemen per game. Mitchell Mayes, Ryan Linthicum, Dietrick Pennington, and Harris Sewell all have a chance to play and play often. Coach Austin hopes that’ll keep everyone fresh.

“Down the stretch, those [starting] guys had almost 1,000 snaps on them, and I think that caught up with them a little bit,” said Austin

Those are a lot of positives for the running game, and there’s one more – a speedy, dual-threat QB. With all that going for them, it is reasonable to expect Clemson to have their most potent rushing attack since 2019 when the Travis Etienne-led ground game averaged an incredible 6.55 yards per carry.