By Will Vandervort.
This might sound a little crazy to those who have watched 17th-ranked Clemson struggle to run the football this season, but watch out, here comes the running game.
Offensive coordinator Chad Morris has been stubborn to say the least when it comes to his willingness to keep running the football even when the Tigers have had little to no success.
Three times this year, Clemson has failed to eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game and two other times it barely got over 100 yards. Yet Morris has stuck with the ground game despite an influx of running backs and offensive linemen due to injuries.
Despite running for only 31 yards through three-and-a-half quarters against Louisville, the offensive line and running back Adam Choice racked up 41 yards on a late fourth-quarter drive that ended in a field goal, forcing the Cardinals to have to beat the Tigers with a touchdown instead of tying things up with a field goal, which they were unable to do.
Though they rushed for just 113 yards the following week at Boston College, it was touchdown runs of 17 and 32 yards by Wayne Gallman and C.J. Davidson that were the difference in the Tigers’ 17-13 victory.
“We have been stubborn about it, but we have stuck with it,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
And though it has been a long and dark tunnel there appears to be a light at the end that is shining bright. In the last two weeks, Gallman has grabbed a hold of the running back position and is becoming the kind of runner the Tigers have desperately needed.
In wins over Syracuse and Wake Forest, he eclipsed the 100-yard mark, and even more impressive is he did most of the damage in the second half of each victory. Eighty four of his 101 yards against Syracuse came in the second half, while he amassed 90 of his 106 yards against Wake Forest in the final 30 minutes.
“I think Wayne just keeps getting better and I think we have seen that here the last couple of weeks,” Morris said. “Just his feel for it. He is patient in setting up his blocks.”
He is also improved in other aspects of his game as well. He is blocking much better in pass protection and has become a reliable target out of the backfield as well. He caught four passes for 43 yards against the Demon Deacons, including an 18-yard screen that went for a touchdown, one of two he scored in the win.
The freshman had a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter that iced the game for Clemson.
“He has really become a much more complete player for us,” Swinney said. “Our comfort in trusting him in the passing game and his protections, those are areas where he has really improved. He made some big plays in the passing game, as well as in the running game.
“We are really excited about Wayne Gallman and the progress he has made this year.”
With Gallman being productive, Clemson now has an opportunity this week at No. 22 Georgia Tech to really amp up the running game. Fellow freshman Deshaun Watson will return at quarterback, giving Morris another option in the running game.
Before his injury, Watson had already shown progression in Morris’ zone-read scheme and now with the threat of Gallman as a serious threat in the backfield, Watson becomes even more dangerous as a runner.
“You hope with Wayne and what he has been able to do and now that Deshaun is back in the rotation I think they will help each other out. I really do,” Morris said.
And that will only make the Clemson running game that much better and the offense even more explosive.
“The backs and the O-linemen have been getting better and that is opening up the passing game,” Watson said. “That’s the kind of balance we need to show that we can run and pass the ball.”