CLEMSON – The “dirt raid” for Clemson will require plenty of rushing success for offensive coordinator Garrett Riley to come to fruition. Lucky for him, that’s one of the Tigers’ strongest positions heading into 2023.

Will Shipley and Phil Mafah are the leaders of the group, with Shipley especially cemented as the best running back in the conference after a first-team All-ACC season. Mafah is the physical jolt behind him, and he rushed for over 500 yards in 2022.

Head coach Dabo Swinney said he loves his running back room, and a lot of that has to do with the unit as a whole, not just the stars of it. He elaborated on this after Clemson’s second scrimmage, where he saw more out of some of the younger guys.

“Man, I love our backs,” Swinney said. “That’s the one, if people ask me about one position on this team, it’s running back and these backs: Dominique [Thomas], Keith Adams, Jay Haynes and Jarvis [Green]. Wow, and that’s really what I wanted to see today. I wanted to see these four backs kind of take Ship and Mafah off.”

Depth is key at running back to keep fresh legs in the rushing game, and Swinney wanted to emphasize this by keeping the stars on the sideline. Peyton Streko was another name he mentioned that flashed during the scrimmage.

Of the five players he mentioned, Streko, Jay Haynes and Jarvis Green are all true freshmen this year. With Swinney so high on this group, Riley has a deep stable to work with in his offense.

“We’ve got a really good room, man, and we’re proud of them. Those guys do a good job of competing. Shipley is obviously the guy that can do a lot of things for sure,” Swinney said. “You know, I think once we get in the course of the season and you start game planning, it comes down to just getting guys touches, and we’re not going to come in every game planning making sure Shipley’s touching the ball and Mafah. I think those guys can be 1,000-yard rushers.”

There’s a lot to decipher from Swinney’s messaging, as it’s a bunch of positives with this group. He knows the punch that Shipley and Mafah pack, but he’s confident in the young group behind the two when their numbers are called. With a long season ahead, the Tigers have an abundance of riches at running back to roll over ACC defenses throughout the year.