Shipley sees group with 'all-time' confidence, Cade Klubnik growing up before our eyes

Clemson's offense is showing signs of balance and playmaking ability.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Oct 05 12:43:27 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Third-year Clemson running back Will Shipley is a main feature of the Tigers’ 2023 offense with a team-leading 72 carries for 353 rushing yards. In addition, he has seen more action in the receiving game, as he is third on the team in receptions with 17.

Shipley has seen improved play from quarterback Cade Klubnik alongside him through five games.

“Cade has proven that he’s got the ability to throw the ball, and we got the receivers, the guys that can go make the plays. Teams can’t just guard us like we’re one-dimensional,” Shipley said. “I think it will open up a ton of things for Phil (Mafah) and I, and if they got to choose one of the other, then that puts us in a really good position. So, just got to continue to flourish and do well in both parts, in the passing game and the running game, and just make defenses choose which one they want to try to stop.”

Klubnik did not start off the season well with an interception in both of the first two games, one returned for a touchdown, as well as being part of an offense with multiple costly fumbles. Things have turned around, and now, he is leading the ACC in pass attempts and completions. Shipley is not surprised by this improvement since he has witnessed Klubnik learning from these early mistakes.

“I think he’s just learning from every opportunity, from every mistake that he’s made, he’s learned from it,” Shipley said. “That’s when the game truly slows down and is when you’re able to view it as going out there and it being just like the practice field, and that’s kind of the shift that I’ve seen in Cade’s mind, just his ability to manage the game and the plays that he’s making.”

Offensive production overall has been good in every game this season, as the Tigers are averaging 35.2 points per game and 457.2 yards per game. As Shipley said, this is certainly not a one-dimensional team. They are ranked No. 38 in rushing offense and No. 39 in passing offense in the FBS. Shipley believes this is a very confident team.

“We’ve got all-time confidence in this offense, and there’s never a time where we’ve lacked belief in how we can move the ball if we just make the routine plays and do everything that we do out there on this practice field,” Shipley said. “Nobody has been able to stop us. So, we’ve got so much confidence in this offense, what we can do, and just the confidence that we’re going to continue to grow and get better. We’ve gotten better every single week.”

They will face their fourth ACC opponent of the season in Wake Forest on Saturday. While sitting with a 3-1 record, the Demon Deacons are 0-1 in the ACC so far after losing 30-16 to Georgia Tech in their last game. However, Wake Forest does have one of the better rush defenses in the FBS, ranked No. 32. Their weakness is the passing game, as they rank No. 69 in passing offense, allowing an average of 229 passing yards per game.