Clemson won seven of its last eight games and five straight at the end of the regular season after a 2-2 start, a turnaround spearheaded by a defense that now ranks second nationally in points allowed and an offense that finally found some cohesion in the second half of the season (36 points on average in the last five games).
Built into that success is the help the Tigers got from their freshmen.
Clemson signed the nation’s fifth-best recruiting class this year, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, and got a glimpse into the future by getting many of their first-year players on the field quickly. Some got more reps than others while some got more than expected.
The headliner, at least in terms of production, has been running back Will Shipley, who’s shown why he was a five-star recruit coming out of the North Carolina prep ranks. Equipped with some of the best speed and quickness on Clemson’s roster, Shipley started getting some first-team reps in fall camp. Once veteran Lyn-J Dixon left the program after the first three games, they became more frequent.
Shipley got his first career start the next week against North Carolina State and has started three more since. Despite missing three games with injuries, Shipley is still Clemson’s leading rusher with 678 yards and has a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder has turned it on late in the season with three 100-yard rushing games in his last four. His 128 yards in Clemson’s win over South Carolina last week, which included a 29-yard touchdown, tied his season-high.
He’s been joined in the backfield by fellow newcomer Phil Mafah, a different kind of back at 6-1 and 225 pounds. Mafah didn’t play in the first four games with Clemson initially planning on redshirting him, but when Michel Dukes’ midseason transfer thinned out the depth at the position even more, those plans changed.
Mafah provides a change of pace to Shipley and sophomore Kobe Pace, who has split first-team reps with Shipley for most of the season. Mafah debuted with 58 yards on just eight carries against Boston College on Oct. 2 and had a season-high 69 yards on nine carries against Florida State. He scored Clemson’s final touchdown against Carolina to give him three rushing touchdowns on the season.
But the backfield isn’t the only place that’s seen a bit of a youth movement this season.
Receiver was one of the deepest positions on the roster entering the season, but injuries have cut into the numbers, forcing Beaux Collins and Dacari Collins into more significant roles down the stretch. Without Frank Ladson Jr. (groin) for most of the season and Justyn Ross (foot), Joseph Ngata (foot) and E.J. Williams (leg) for the last couple of games at least, Beaux and Dacari have become first-year starters.
A versatile receiver capable of playing inside or out, Beaux has become one of D.J. Uiagalelei’s favorite targets since entering the starting lineup permanently four games ago. He caught a season-high six passes against Louisville in early November and came back two weeks later with a season-high 137 receiving yards against Wake Forest. He’s worked his way up to second on the team in receptions (28) and receiving yards (387).
At 6-4 and 215 pounds, Dacari is one of the bigger targets on the roster who’s used that size to his advantage on the outside. He’s caught just 10 passes this season but is averaging more than 16 yards on those receptions. Dacari produced Clemson’s most explosive play through the air against South Carolina last week when he hauled in a 37-yard pass on a double move.
Another big target, Jake Briningstool, has shown flashes of what made him one of the nation’s top tight end prospects coming out of high school this past year.
Junior Davis Allen has been the Tigers’ primary tight end for most of the season, but with a shoulder injury derailing Braden Galloway’s season earlier than expected, Briningstool has seen his playing time increase, particularly of late. The 6-6, 230-pounder had two catches for 56 yards against Connecticut last month, including an acrobatic 25-yard touchdown, and was often the second tight end when Clemson went with multiple tight-end sets against Carolina last week.
But none of Clemson’s newcomers have been utilized more heavily this season than Marcus Tate and Andrew Mukuba.
Mukuba enrolled early as a four-star signee and impressed enough to earn a start in his first career game against Georgia while veteran safety Nolan Turner was still nursing an injury. Mukuba hasn’t come out of the starting lineup much since then, logging 523 snaps in nine starts so far. He’s fifth on the team with 52 tackles and leads a defense that includes all-ACC caliber corners Andrew Booth and Mario Goodrich with nine pass breakups.
Meanwhile, Tate has logged 555 snaps this season, more than any true freshman. He’s done it along the offensive line, a position notorious for being difficult to manage for first-year players.
It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for Tate, who won the starting job at left guard to start the season once Matt Bockhorst moved to center but has been in and out of the starting lineup since. With the Tigers’ offensive line getting healthier late in the season, Hunter Rayburn has started over Tate in each of the last two games, but there’s no substitute for experience. And Tate has gotten plenty of it this season.
Others have, too. Linebacker Barrett Carter (one start), defensive tackle Payton Page and cornerback Nate Wiggins are among those who’ve gotten their feet wet in preparation for what could be more expanded roles next season. Others have had to practice more patience. Offensive tackle Tristan Leigh was the highest-ranked recruit in the Tigers’ 2021 class, but senior Jordan McFadden and sophomore Walker Parkers have been some of the team’s most consistent performers at that position. Leigh has played in just two games as a result and is in line to redshirt.
But this season has given Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his staff a good look at the group’s overall potential.
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