Tag: Kobe Pace

Clemson’s ‘three-headed monster’ holding itself to high standard

C.J. Spiller has said he believes Clemson has three backs on its roster that could start for any school in America. The Tigers’ former All-American turned running backs coach isn’t going to get much of an argument from Will Shipley, who leads the …

C.J. Spiller has said he believes Clemson has three backs on its roster that could start for any school in America.

The Tigers’ former All-American turned running backs coach isn’t going to get much of an argument from Will Shipley, who leads the trio into the new season as far as the depth chart goes. Shipley, the former five-star signee who led Clemson in rushing last as a true freshman, has heard the hype for the trio outside the walls of the football facilities.

“The three-headed monster, I’ve seen that on Twtiter and a couple of things,” Shipley said with a smile. “I love it.”

But Shipley knows it doesn’t mean much if it’s not followed up with action from himself, Kobe Pace and Phil Mafah. But the potential is there.

Most of Pace’s 122 carries have come in a backup role, but the fourth-year junior is averaging more than 5.8 yards per carry for his career. Shipley burst onto the scene last season with a team-best 739 rushing yards in just 10 games after a leg injury limited his availability.

Meanwhile, Mafah got 68 carries in nine games as a reserve last season, but the rising sophomore got all of the first-team reps during the spring with Shipley and Pace (toe) recovering from their injuries. Spiller praised Mafah for not only having perhaps the most versatile skill set among the three backs but also for taking his game to another level mentally.

Shipley, who’s healthy again with no limitations so far in camp, said nobody has higher expectations for the group than themselves.

“When you talk about me, Kobe and Phil, it’s a special, special group,” Shipley said. “We just got done talking about it, but we’re holding each other to a standard. We love each other, but we’re also competing out there. And we all know that.”

Shipley heads into the 2022 season atop the depth chart after ending last season there, but the group saw then just how important staying ready is. Mafah, whom the coaches initially planned on redshirting, got most of his playing time at the end of the season as injuries piled up at a position that’s more susceptible to them.

The objective, Shipley said, is to prevent a dropoff in production no matter which back has his number called.

“Not necessarily competing against each other, but competing for each other,” he said. “And that’s really what it comes down to. We’re going to hold each other to that standard and we’re going to make sure we all bring our best every single day.”

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Clemson Tigers Snapshot Profile: No.7 Kobe Pace

Kobe Pace should get a lot of work in this Clemson offense.

Heading into the 2022 season, ClemsonWire will look at multiple players on the Clemson football roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school and what role they will play for head coach Dabo Swinney this season.

With starting running back Will Shipley covered, we will now be taking a look at backup running back Kobe Pace.

Though not the starter, Pace is one of the most important pieces of the Tigers’ offense and should be in line for another season with a solid workload.

Here’s a snapshot look at Kobe Pace.

Clemson’s one major recruiting need for its 2023 class

After landing 12 commitments in June, Clemson has one of the highest-ranked 2023 recruiting classes, but there is still a glaring need for the Tigers.

Clemson had a tremendous recruiting showing in June, reeling in 12 commitments in the 30-day span, but there is still a glaring need in the Tigers’ 2023 class.

With four-star running back Jeremiah Cobb announcing his pledge to Auburn on Friday, Clemson is now unlikely to land any of the program’s tailback offers.

As of July 3, Clemson has offered four 2023 running backs: five-star Richard Young, four-star Cedric Baxter Jr., four-star Justice Haynes and Cobb. Although Cobb listed Clemson as a finalist, it appears the Tigers are out of the running for the other three prospects, as 247Sports has crystal balled them to other schools and labeled their interest in Clemson as “cool.”

Since C.J. Spiller took over as the team’s running backs coach in February of 2021, the Tigers have landed one running back prospect in three-star Keith Adams Jr., who was the only prospect out of five offered in the class of 2022 that chose the Tigers.

Along with Adams, Clemson’s current running backs on scholarship are Will Shipley, Phil Mafah and Kobe Pace. Shipley and Mafah are just entering their second season, but finding their eventual replacements in the 2023 class should be a priority.

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ACC analyst expects a fistfight in the Atlantic Division

Clemson has mostly owned the ACC’s Atlantic Division in recent years, en route to capturing the conference championship in six straight seasons prior to seeing Wake Forest win the division last year before going on to lose to Pittsburgh in the ACC …

Clemson has mostly owned the ACC’s Atlantic Division in recent years, en route to capturing the conference championship in six straight seasons prior to seeing Wake Forest win the division last year before going on to lose to Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship Game.

While the Tigers may be the favorite to reclaim the Atlantic Division crown in 2022, behind a defensive line and overall defensive unit that projects to be among the best in the country, this ACC analyst doesn’t think winning the division will be a cakewalk for Clemson.

With the teams that finished first and second in the Atlantic a year ago (Wake Forest and NC State) returning a bunch of key players, including quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Devin Leary, respectively – and the question marks surrounding Clemson’s quarterback situation and what the Tigers will get out of D.J. Uiagalelei coming off his down season in 2021 – Eric Mac Lain expects the division to be a battle this fall.

The former Clemson offensive lineman and current ACC Network analyst was asked on Packer and Durham with Mark Packer and Wes Durham recently if he senses a fistfight in the Atlantic this season.

“I think until proven otherwise, yeah,” Mac Lain said. “I mean, what is D.J. going to be, what is this offense going to be from Clemson? We have to see it. It’s not so much as it just totally has fallen apart. But you saw the spring game, there wasn’t much glimpse of it — it was vanilla and you can’t hit the quarterback, so we don’t know how mobile he’s going to be. But until proven otherwise, that Clemson offense has to regain some trust.

“Now, defensively, I think they’re going to be one of the best, if not the best in the country. But it also speaks to what NC State has done and who they have coming back and the team that they’ll have, as well as Wake Forest.”

Mac Lain wonders what Clemson’s offensive identity will be in 2022 and believes the Tigers should lean on the running game that helped them reel off six consecutive victories last season to reach the 10-win mark for the 11th straight year.

He also thinks the Tigers will benefit from the fact that rising sophomore running back Phil Mafah got the majority of first-team reps this spring, with rising junior Kobe Pace (toe) being held out of practices and rising sophomore Will Shipley (leg) missing most of the spring recovering from his injury.

“It’s going to be interesting, what is that going to be?” Mac Lain said of Clemson’s offensive identity. “Because we saw at the end of the season, when they went on that run to win 10 games, they ran the football – a lot. They used those three running backs, and this spring, Shipley was hurt, Pace was hurt. Mafah was the guy, and I think that without that happening — which you never want anybody injured — but without that happening, the silver lining is Mafah has emerged. Now, it’s a three-headed monster. I mean, give those guys the rock. …

“So, you have to use those guys. But in the same breath, quarterback play is how you win. That’s how you win in college football, that’s how you win in the NFL. And so at the end of the day, D.J. has to take the necessary steps, be more accurate, be more on time, and his wide receivers have to help him. They have to catch the ball. They had a drop rate last year that was the most we’ve seen in a long time from Clemson. So, offensively, got to get it going, got to figure it out. I’m sure they will, but until they show that, you’ve got to think it (the Atlantic Division) is going to be a battle.”

What we learned about Clemson’s special teams this spring

The dust on Clemson’s spring football season has been settling for more than a week following the team’s annual Orange and White game on April 9. Based on limited practice access and feedback from coaches and players, The Clemson Insider is taking …

The dust on Clemson’s spring football season has been settling for more than a week following the team’s annual Orange and White game on April 9.

Based on limited practice access and feedback from coaches and players, The Clemson Insider is taking inventory of the offense, defense and special teams heading into the summer. TCI previously took a look at the offense and defense.

Here’s what we learned about the special teams after the Tigers’ 15 spring practices:

There is a legitimate punter competition

When Will Spiers exhausted his eligibility after last season, the assumption was Aidan Swanson – the only other player on last season’s roster that’s punted in a game – would essentially be handed the punting duties after biding his time behind Spiers the last two seasons.

But B.T. Potter isn’t going down without a fight.

Potter, the Tigers’ veteran kicker, also punted this spring. Swanson had the slightly better spring game, averaging 45.5 yards on six punts. Potter, who also dropped a snap before getting off one of his punts, averaged 42.3 yards on six kicks. But there were some days during the spring where Potter held the edge.

The competition is so tight between the two that Swinney said deciding on a starting punter is the only real question he still has about his team coming out of the spring. Swinney said the job will go to whoever the coaching staff believes is the best man for it even if that means Potter has to pull double duty in the fall.

Return game waiting to get whole again

When it comes to the kick return game, first-year special teams coordinator Mike Reed stated the obvious in that Clemson ultimately has to put its best returners on the field regardless of the position they play. Running back Will Shipley may still be the most explosive kick returner on the roster after averaging more than 27 yards per return as a freshman last season, though Shipley missed most of the spring so that he could fully recover from a lingering injury.

Kobe Pace also has experience returning kicks, though the junior running back also didn’t participate this spring with a toe injury. That left fellow running back Phil Mafah to handle most of the kick returns this spring, and running backs coach C.J. Spiller said all three are capable of getting the job done. But Shipley’s speed gives the Tigers a different dynamic in that role, and Reed and Spiller both said Shipley’s recent injury history won’t stop them from keeping him there if it’s what is best for the team.

At punt returner, fellow freshman Will Taylor briefly gave the Tigers a shot in the arm there before a torn ACL cut his season short. Taylor, a two-sport athlete, missed all of spring and has yet to play a baseball game as he works his way back to full strength following reconstructive surgery.

Taylor may resume that role this fall, but keep an eye on a few other receivers who could also get a look at helping Clemson improve its 4.4-yard average on punt returns last season, including incoming freshman Antonio Williams, whom receivers coach Tyler Grisham called a “natural” as a punt returner.

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Clemson sits atop ACC spring football power rankings

The Tigers stand alone at the top of ACC spring football power rankings.

Spring football has come and gone for the ACC, as teams won’t be able to get back to work till later this upcoming summer.

After a down year for Clemson and Dabo Swinney, they still managed to put together a double-digit win season (10-3) and win over Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl this past December. They were by no means living up to the expectation of what they’ve built for themselves over the last decade, but it wasn’t a bad season.

Now looking towards the future, Clemson sits at the top of Paul Myerberg’s USA Today’s spring football power rankings.

Via USA Today:

1. Clemson (2021 record: 10-3)

It was only a year ago that DJ Uiagalelei was listed among the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy. Heading out of the spring and into the summer, it’s not even certain the junior will remain the Tigers’ starter. After throwing just nine touchdowns and averaging a paltry six yards per attempt in 2021, Uiagalelei will be tested by incoming freshman Cade Klubnik, a five-star recruit.

Taking the top ranking on the list, Myerberg doesn’t mention the positives of the team, just the quarterback battle. That is understandable as it will be the main headline of next season as it was back in 2018 for quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Kelly Bryant, but if we’re talking about why they sit atop the list… there are some excellent reasons the Tigers are there.

To keep it simple, let’s talk about the two strongest units for Clemson next season.

The Tigers’ defensive line heading into next season is likely the best defensive line unit in the country. Headlined by Myles Murphy and Bryan Breese, the group runs deeper than possibly any other Clemson defensive line to date.

On the offensive side of things, while people want to talk about the quarterback competition, Clemson also has arguably the best running back room in the country that should show out next season in a big way.

The two-headed monster of Will Shipley and Kobe Pace will be causing problems for every single ACC defense they face next season. That’s without mentioning third-string running back Phil Mafah, who would be a starter at many programs across the country.

There’s a lot of questions heading into next season for Clemson football, yet they remain atop these power rankings for a reason. The Tigers could be in for another huge season.

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Swinney has seen ‘anger’ from Shipley this spring

During ACC Network’s broadcast of Clemson’s Orange & White Spring Game on Saturday at Death Valley, head coach Dabo Swinney was asked what he’s seen this spring from sophomore running back Will Shipley, who has missed most of the spring recovering …

During ACC Network’s broadcast of Clemson’s Orange & White Spring Game on Saturday at Death Valley, head coach Dabo Swinney was asked what he’s seen this spring from sophomore running back Will Shipley, who has missed most of the spring recovering from an injury.

“I see anger, because he is not happy not playing,” Swinney said. “He loves to play, he loves to practice. He loves everything about the grind of football. So, he’s not been very happy not being able to play.”

A former five-star prospect, Shipley immediately became part of the backfield rotation last season as a true freshman. He got 45 more carries than anyone else on the roster despite missing three games with a leg injury and finished as the Tigers’ leading rusher (738 yards, 11 rushing TDs).

Even since returning to practice a couple of weeks ago, Shipley has been limited as a precaution. Junior running back Kobe Pace, who averaged a team-best 6.2 yards on 104 carries last season, has also been out this spring recovering from a toe injury.

Swinney said both Shipley and Pace are “in a great spot” as far as their recoveries from their respective injuries.

“Honestly, if we played today, he’d be ready,” Swinney said of Shipley. “He’s in a great spot, and Kobe as well. Their rehab has gone great. … But Shipley brings that fire. He just brings a fire. Unbelievable vocal leadership to go with the leadership by example.”

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With backs that could start for ‘any team in America’, Spiller envisions regular backfield rotation

If there were odds on which running back will take the field first when Clemson plays Georgia Tech in five months, Will Shipley would likely be the betting favorite. But C.J. Spiller doesn’t exactly have a preference. In fact, Spiller said he isn’t …

If there were odds on which running back will take the field first when Clemson plays Georgia Tech in five months, Will Shipley would likely be the betting favorite. But C.J. Spiller doesn’t exactly have a preference.

In fact, Spiller said he isn’t anticipating much separation in the Tigers’ backfield between now and the time that Labor Day opener rolls around. Shipley, Kobe Pace and Phil Mafah are the top three backs on the depth chart – the only other scholarship back, true freshman Keith Adams Jr., won’t join the competition until fall camp – but Spiller said he expects the Tigers to have a consistent rotation at the position rather than a true primary ball carrier.

“Those three guys, you can put them on any team in America and they can start,” said Spiller, who’s beginning his second year coaching the position for his alma mater. “When you talk about separation, it’s going to be very slim because, as an offensive staff, we feel very comfortable putting any of those guys in there and getting the job done. We have all the confidence in the world in each and every one of them.”

If any of them was to establish himself as the featured back, Shipley is the most likely candidate. A former five-star prospect, Shipley immediately became part of the backfield rotation last season as a true freshman. He got 45 more carries than anyone else on the roster despite missing three games with a leg injury and finished as the Tigers’ leading rusher (738 yards, 11 rushing TDs).

Shipley has missed most of the spring recovering from his injury. Even since returning to practice a couple of weeks ago, Shipley has been limited as a precaution. Pace, who averaged a team-best 6.2 yards on 104 carries last season, has also been out this spring recovering from a toe injury, leaving Mafah to get all of the first-team reps for the time being. Also a freshman last season, Mafah got his feet wet with 68 carries in nine games after having his redshirt pulled a month into the season.

Spiller said he doesn’t have a specific timeline as to when Shipley and Pace will be back at full strength, though both are expected to have clean bills of health again by the start of fall camp. The group has complementary skill sets that Spiller said he plans to continue utilizing then.

Pace, the oldest of the trio as a rising junior, has appeared in more games than any back on the roster (20) while Shipley is the most dynamic. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound speedster had three 100-yard games a season ago and also averaged 27.1 yards as one of the Tigers’ primary kickoff returners. Meanwhile, Mafah gives Clemson size (6-1, 225 pounds) and additional versatility at the position with his ability to catch passes out of the backfield, Spiller said.

“All three of them bring something totally different to the table, which is what you like as a running backs coach because every running back is different,” Spiller said. “But as far as a huge separation, I wouldn’t say there’s going to be a big gap between those guys.”

Spiller said the real task is figuring out how to divvy up the reps once the backfield is whole again.

“We just have to get our rotation right,” Spiller said, “and that just falls on me and the offensive staff making sure we have the right personnel when we need it.”

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Spiller talks Shipley, Pace

Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller met with the media Monday following the Tigers’ spring practice. Spiller spoke about sophomore running back Will Shipley and junior running back Kobe Pace, both of whom have been rehabbing from injuries this …

Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller met with the media Monday following the Tigers’ spring practice.

Spiller spoke about sophomore running back Will Shipley and junior running back Kobe Pace, both of whom have been rehabbing from injuries this spring.

The Clemson Insider asked Spiller at what point this offseason he expects to get Shipley and Pace back to full speed.

“I don’t know the timeline on it, honestly,” Spiller said. “I told them guys, whenever they’re ready to rock and roll, you just let me know and we’ll be sitting here waiting for you to return. The biggest thing for both of those, obviously, is just getting back fully healthy. But I don’t want to sit here and put a timeline on it and then something happens, because you just never know what can happen in the rehab sessions.”

“So, whenever they’re ready to come back, I’m going to be sitting right in my room waiting for them and ready to hug their neck and get them out on the practice field and yell at ’em a little bit,” Spiller added jokingly.

Shipley rushed 149 times for 738 yards (5.0 avg.) with 11 touchdowns, caught 16 passes for 116 yards, averaged 27.1 yards on 14 kickoff returns and threw a two-yard touchdown pass in 10 games (five starts) as a true freshman last season.

Pace, meanwhile, posted 641 yards and six touchdowns on 104 carries and 131 yards on 12 receptions over only 273 snaps in 11 games (six starts) as a sophomore last season. He also averaged 22.8 yards on four kickoff returns.

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Injury bug hits running back room hard for spring

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media Wednesday and updated the injury status of his team as the Tigers begin spring practice. Swinney said both rising sophomore running back Will Shipley and rising junior running back Kobe Pace will be …

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media Wednesday and updated the injury status of his team as the Tigers begin spring practice.

Swinney said both rising sophomore running back Will Shipley and rising junior running back Kobe Pace will be out for the spring.

Shipley missed two games last season after suffering a knee injury at NC State, while Pace underwent toe surgery after the season.

“Will Shipley looks great,” Swinney said. “There’s nobody more disappointed than Will Shipley that he couldn’t do mat drills. That guy loves every ounce of everything, but he’s in a good spot with his rehab.”

“Kobe Pace with his big toe, the surgery that he had on that, he’s rehabbing well,” Swinney added.

Swinney added that the absences of Shipley and Pace presents a big opportunity for rising sophomore running back Phil Mafah to show what he can do this spring.

“It’s a great opportunity for Mafah to kind of be the guy this spring,” Swinney said. “He didn’t really get a chance to be the guy. Kobe did, Shipley did, so it should be a great experience for him to catch up a little bit this spring.”

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