The competition among Lyn-J Dixon, Kobe Pace and Will Shipley leading up to last week’s season opener against Georgia was so tight that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was adamant all three running backs would play this season.
Swinney’s confidence in the trio made him go as far as to say at one point that he didn’t care which one took the field first with the rest of the Tigers’ offense. Turns out that was Pace, but true to his word, all three logged snaps in Clemson’s 10-3 loss.
So what did Swinney think of their performances? Well…
“We just didn’t ever really give them a chance,” Swinney said. “Those guys are going to be outstanding, but it’s kind of hard to evaluate them.”
Life after Travis Etienne got off to a rough — and mostly absent — start for Clemson’s primary backs, who combined for just 24 rushing yards against the nation’s top run defense two years running. Some missed blocking assignments along the offensive line cost the Tigers opportunities for a big gainer here and there on the ground, but the real issue in evaluating the backs came with a lack of touches.
Dixon wasn’t available for the first half because of what Swinney called “team rules.” But even with Pace and Shipley around the whole time, the combined carries for the backs were in the single digits. Pace went for 2 yards on Clemson’s first offensive snap but got just three carries the rest of the way. Shipley touched the ball just four times while Dixon’s lone went for 10 yards once he made an appearance in the second half.
Even against a defense as stout as Georgia’s has proven to be, Swinney and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott voiced regret this week about abandoning the run as quickly as the Tigers did. Rarely even giving the Bulldogs a look in the running game put more of the pressure on D.J. Uiagalelei and the offensive line to hold up against Georgia’s relentless pass rush, which didn’t go well.
Uiagalelei was sacked seven times, and the Tigers finished with just 180 total yards in their first game without a touchdown in nearly four years.
“I think there’s nobody that evaluates themselves more than the coaches themselves, that’s for sure,” Swinney said. “We made some mistakes, too. You look back, and there are a couple of things we should’ve hung in there on the run game a little bit more and didn’t do it. That’s definitely something we can improve on.”
Shipley also had an 11-yard catch and run to convert a third down in the first half after lining up out wide while Pace caught one pass for 6 yards. But Swinney said some mental breakdowns between the two prevented them from potentially being a bigger part of the passing game out of the backfield.
Swinney said the youngsters held up well in pass protection, but there were also times when they should’ve been out in more route concepts based on certain looks the offense was getting from Georgia’s defense.
“Sometimes we have protections where they’re kind of the Secret Service agent,” Swinney said. “They’re there for backup. And we’ve got free-release protections where they get out, but when we’ve got some check-release things, they overcomplicated things. They should’ve been out in the structure, especially against all the cover-2 (zone defense) and two-man stuff.
“The ball needs to find the back, but they’re in the backfield blocking nobody when they need to be in the route concept. So that’s where they’ve got to improve, and they will.”
The Tigers plan to get a bigger sample size out of their backs when Clemson returns to action Saturday in its home opener against South Carolina State. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is set for 5 p.m.
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
