Last offseason, Dabo Swinney boasted about Clemson having two 1,000 yard running backs in 2023.
While the bold proclamation never came to fruition, the head coach didn't miss the mark by far.
The duo of Will Shipley and Phil Mafah came closer than some might think, combining to rush for 1,848 yards, with the latter finishing just one yard shy of 1,000 yards.
2023 Phil Mafah Stats
- ATT: 179
- YDS: 999
- YPC: 5.4
- TDS: 13
Despite missing the Notre Dame contest, and parts of other games due to injury, Shipley was just 151 yards shy of hitting the mark.
2023 Will Shipley Stats
- ATT: 167
- YDS: 849
- YPC: 5.0
- TDS: 5
While the overall numbers are serviceable, Clemson's rushing attack was not what most assumed it would be coming into the season. After picking up more than 200 yards on the ground in each of the first three games, and then close to 150 more in the overtime loss to Florida State, the Tigers looked poised for a huge season rushing the football.
However, the offense would then go through a stretch where rushing yards were hard to come by. While the run blocking struggled mightily during that stretch, so did the running backs, at times. We saw instances of guys hitting the wrong gap, running into the backs of their own blockers, and at times, what looked to be timidness. Not to mention some of the pass protection issues.
The Tigers managed just 126 yards on the ground at Syracuse, and averaged less than 4 YPC. The next week, at home against Wake Forest, Clemson again struggled to pick up yards on the ground consistently in the first half, before finding their stride after halftime and finishing with over 200.
The next week at Miami, Clemson managed to rush for a measly 31 yards. The following week at NC State, just 101. Both losses.
Then came the Notre Dame game, where the rushing attack started to find its groove. Despite not having Shipley, Clemson scorched the Fighting Irish run defense. Mafah finished the day with 186 rushing yards and averaged more than 5.0 YPC.
What followed was three consecutive games to end the regular season that saw the offense rush for more than 200 yards. Then in the Gator Bowl, we got a mixed bag. Mafah averaged more than 5 YPC and scored a bowl record four TDs, but Shipley had just 29 yards on 11 carries.
While the numbers probably weren't were most were expecting, at the end of the day what you want to see is improvement. And the Clemson ground game was no doubt better towards the end of the season than it was in the middle of it.
Over the first half of the season, the backs really struggled in short yardage situations, as well as just holding onto the ball, as fumbles were a huge issue. Both things we saw improve as the season wore on. We also saw some improvement with pass protection. All things that can be built on in 2024.
Outlook: With Shipley heading off to the NFL, fans will now get a chance to see Mafah as the lead back in the offense. And with Jay Haynes and incoming freshman Davis Eziomume behind him, maybe we see a little more explosiveness from the RB position. Both of those guys have the ability to hit that extra gear in the open field, a trait that Shipley, nor Mafah really possess. And with Matt Luke now serving as the OL coach, it is safe to assume Mafah and the rest of the backs get more help from the big boys up front in 2024.
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