Will Shipley Clemson's lone player on the Maxwell Award watchlist.

Clemson running back Will Shipley was name to the Maxwell Award watchlist.

Clemson has an incredible history of producing legendary college football players. Of all of the Tigers that have made their way through Clemson to the NFL, none have ever taken home one of the two biggest awards in college football: the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award. The Tigers will look to change that in 2023.

The Maxwell Award, "presented annually to the outstanding player in college football", just released its preseason watchlist, and only one Clemson Tiger made the list: running back Will Shipley.

(Clemson Athletics)

Shipley is entering his third season at Clemson. The junior back tallied over 1,400 yards of offense and added 324 return yards in 2022. Now he's looking to be the featured piece in a new-look Clemson offense as coordinator Garrett Riley comes in from TCU.

Both Shipley and his partner, Phil Mafah, have an opportunity for big seasons in 2023. Riley's offense relies on running backs heavily. At TCU in 2022, Kendre Miller and Emari Demercado combined for 335 carries and 2,080 yards. 

"Looking overall on the year, it's not where we wanted to get, not where we wanted to be, not where we wanted to finish. But there's no doubt that we competed," said Shipley after last season's Orange Bowl loss to Tennesee. "I think we've got a bunch of dudes on this team who are hungry, hungry to come back next year and prove something."

"We've got to keep our heads down, got to work in the off-season, get right back to it, but there's no doubt that we've got what we need in that locker room to get where we want to go."