Freshmen don’t just show up and become stars. That’s normally the case in college football but Clemson running back Will Shipley decided to silence that narrative and became the Tigers bell cow back the moment he came to campus as a five-star prospect.

As a freshman, Shipley scored 11 touchdowns on the ground and cemented himself as one of the best in the ACC. With a high bar set, he eclipsed it in 2022 with his first 1,000 yard season and 15 touchdowns to boot, the seventh-most in program history. The first-team All-ACC running back now has even more chances to succeed in 2023 with Garrett Riley controlling the offense.

With that in mind, we have to think Shipley manages to reach career-highs again. TCU running back Kendre Miller flourished in Riley’s offense, rushing for 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns. I’ll be bold and say Shipley is going have more usage with a yougn quarterback and experienced offensive line. Let’s raise the bar yet again.

• 230 carries
• 1,400 yards
• 18 touchdowns

The passing game is one place where Shipley hasn’t got full usage, and he’s still yet to score a touchdown through the air but that should change in 2023. We’ll come back if Shipley touches these numbers, but he’s proved everyone wrong in the best way before.