PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — As media from Ohio State and around the country asked one Clemson player after another about how much the Tigers throw the football, while referring to them as a passing team, running back Wayne Gallman got a little irritated.

He did not get irritated with the fact reporters were asking the question as much as what it applied – that the Tigers are a finesse team.

“It does, but I think over the last two years I have played with a chip on my shoulder. I have done things in this offense that not a lot of people can do,” the redshirt junior said.

And he has. Gallman has been one of the nation’s most consistent, physical running backs the past two seasons. And saying he and the Tigers’ running game is a finesse one, isn’t exactly true.

Last year, Gallman played a big role in No. 2 Clemson’s run to the national championship game as he rushed for a school-record 1,527 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, he rushed for 187 yards with 168 of those coming in the second half. He then followed that up with 150 yards in the Orange Bowl as the Tigers pounded Oklahoma to advance to the national title game.

Gallman has rushed for 1,002 yards so far this season, but he is still averaging more than five yards per carry and has 15 rushing touchdowns, three off the record for a single-season. He already owns the career mark for 100-yard rushing games with 17, and he went over the century mark five times in 2016.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging,” said Gallman in response to a reporter who asked him what he has done at Clemson, “I set the single-season rushing record. I’m closing in on the touchdown record, and almost the all-time record.”

Gallman recalled the time when he first came to Clemson in 2013 and looked up the all-time rushing leaders in school history.

“I said I wanted to be on there. I’m already, I think, fifth on the board and I still have a little ways to go,” Gallman said.

Gallman is fifth on Clemson’s all-time list with 3,298 yards. He needs 139 yards in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State to pass former running back Andre Ellington for fourth place. He needs one touchdown to pass former Clemson great C.J. Spiller in all-time rushing touchdowns and two to take over third place from Ellington.

“I have always had a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to come in here and change things from a running back standpoint,” Gallman said.

What he has changed … Clemson is not a passing team. It’s a team that has a lot of balance, and at least for one more game, has the “Wayne Train.”

“I’m going to play ‘Wayne Train’ football,” he said. “It is going to be physical. I’m going to do my thing, and I’m going to play how I always play. I’m not going to try to slow down and mess up. I’m just going to play my game.”