Dabo Swinney and Garrett Riley Comment on Clemson's Running Backs

Will Shipley and Phil Mafah will have to be big for Clemson in 2023, as the team breaks in a new offense and tries to get back to the College Football Playoff.

In a very young offense, Will Shipley and Phil Mafah are two of the veteran leaders. It seems wild to say, with both back bursting onto the scene in 2021, but as we enter 2023, the two backs are grizzled vets at this point.

Will Shipley, who dealt with some nagging injuries in 2022, missing the Orange Bowl matchup with Tennessee, but the All-ACC back appears to be back to nearly full strength. With new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley installing his offense this spring, it’s important Shipley be available as Riley designs ways to utilize his skillset. Riley discussed Shipley during his media availability on Wednesday.

“Yeah, I mean, you can get pretty creative [with Shipley],” said Riley. “Again, it’s; physically and skillset-wise, what can he handle? But, probably more important is mentally not overloading him. That’s certainly not something we’re going to do early on in spring, but he’s a guy who can mentally handle some things. He’s a guy you can do a lot with and move around, kind of get him in some different matchups.”

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney is also excited to see what Shipley can do after working this offseason to recover from his injuries.

“He’s a guy that’s worked hard this offseason too, to get his body, you know he was battling some tendonitis coming out of the season, but he’s worked really hard to be able to get out there and compete,” said Swinney of Shipley.

Swinney continued to discuss the running back room. With Cade Klubnik entering his first season as the starting quarterback, it will be important for the running backs to be able to take some of the pressure off of him, both figuratively and literally. The Clemson coaching staff feels confident that they have the backs to do just that.

“That’s a really good group right there. [Shipley and Mafah], I think, have a chance to be a special, special group. They both have done some really good things in their first two years, but there’s a lot more there for both of those guys, and I think you’ll see that for sure this year. We feel good about them. So, let’s see where’s Domonique [Thomas], where’s Keith Adams? We’ve got a couple more guys rolling in here this summer in Jay [Haynes] and Jarvis [Green], so let’s see where they are as well.”

Friday will be day four of Clemson’s fifteen-day spring, culminating with the spring game on April 15th in Memorial Stadium. 

More Clemson News:

• Bryan Bresee Credits Clemson Football at NFL Combine
• Wes Goodwin Updates Clemson's Outside Linebacker Position Battle
• Clemson Spring Practice Schedule

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