Phil Mafah – Page 13 – Syndication Server

Swinney says Shipley, Mafah are ‘very unique freshmen’

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is excited about the Tigers’ true freshmen running backs, Will Shipley and Phil Mafah. “He and Shipley are roommates, and they’re both very unique freshmen and they compliment each other well,” Swinney said in an …

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is excited about the Tigers’ true freshmen running backs, Will Shipley and Phil Mafah.

“He and Shipley are roommates, and they’re both very unique freshmen and they compliment each other well,” Swinney said in an interview with Kelsey Riggs and Eric Mac Lain during the ACC Network’s ACC Football Road Trip show at Clemson.

Swinney was asked what makes Shipley – a former five-star prospect ranked as the nation’s No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2021 class – different from a typical freshman.

“He’s just physically and mentally ready,” Swinney said. “To me, that makes him different right there, because most freshmen are not. … Most freshmen, it’s just so much. But he’s been here since January, so he’s had more time. And then physically, where he came in here is just incredible. He’s so strong, he’s fast, he’s incredibly athletic, he’s a very, very football savvy guy from a football IQ standpoint. So, he’s just unique in that regard, but he’s still a freshman.”

Like Shipley (listed at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds), Mafah arrived to Clemson in January as an early enrollee.

A unanimous top-300 player nationally according to the major recruiting services coming out of Grayson High (Loganville, Ga.), Mafah rushed for 2,526 yards and scored 37 total touchdowns in three years at Grayson, averaging 8.8 yards per carry. The 6-foot-1, 228-pounder logged 10 games of 100-plus rushing yards in 29 career games.

Shipley, meanwhile, rushed for 4,173 yards on 503 carries (8.3 yards per rush) and racked up 1,411 receiving yards on 84 catches (16.8-yard average) during his career at Weddington High (Matthews, N.C.)

“Mafah’s a 228-pound back. I don’t think we’ve ever had a kid like him. He’s unique,” Swinney said.

“Mafah doesn’t get the credit for his speed and athleticism, and Shipley doesn’t get the credit for his power. People think Shipley’s just some speed guy. Shipley, he can run anywhere you want him to run – in between the tackles, outside. And Mafah’s got some wheels, and he’s very athletic. He’s got great hips, great vision. So, they’re two young guys, and they’ve got to get some experience.”

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Will it be running back by committee for Clemson?

With just eight days left before Clemson and Georgia kick off the season with their top-5 clash in Charlotte, Dabo Swinney still hasn’t seen much separation among the Tigers’ running backs. At this point, Clemson’s coach isn’t really looking for it. …

With just eight days left before Clemson and Georgia kick off the season with their top-5 clash in Charlotte, Dabo Swinney still hasn’t seen much separation among the Tigers’ running backs.

At this point, Clemson’s coach isn’t really looking for it.

“They’re all kind of right there (near the top of the depth chart),” Swinney said.

Swinney compared the options in the backfield to the depth the Tigers have at defensive end, where five players have started multiple games for Clemson. Neither Lyn-J Dixon, Kobe Pace nor true freshman Will Shipley have started a game at running back for Clemson, but that’s likely to change inside Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 4.

They’ve consistently led the competition having all gotten first-team reps during fall camp, but as for which one takes the field for the Tigers’ first offensive snap?

“I mean, I don’t really care who runs out there,” Swinney said. “I’ve got confidence in those guys. Those guys are ready to play. A lot of competition, but competition among really good players. And I feel really good about that group.”

So the task of replacing the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, Travis Etienne, is trending toward a committee approach among Clemson’s current collection of backs, which also includes Derion Rencher, Michel Dukes and another freshman, Phil Mafah. All of them bring something a little bit different at this point of their respective careers.

For Dixon, it’s a wealth of knowledge and experience. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound is heading into his fourth year in the offense with 1,372 rushing yards and 519 career snaps having served as Etienne’s primary backup the last couple of seasons.

At 5-10 and 210 pounds, Pace may have the best combination of size and shiftiness at the position and will have a much larger role after getting just 23 touches out of the backfield as a freshman last season. As for Shipley, there aren’t yet any collegiate snaps to his name, but, according to his coaches and teammates, the five-star signee’s skill set has been as advertised ever since he arrived on campus in January.

Most notably, Shipley possesses the kind of speed that already has his teammates debating whether or not he’s the fastest player on Clemson’s roster. The Tigers could also try to take advantage of that by getting Shipley in space as a receiver or even in the return game.

“He’s probably a good assumption,” Swinney said, referencing the likelihood of Shipley seeing the field early and often this season. “He’s a definite guy. Don’t think there’s any big secret there.”

Rencher, who began his career as a walk-on, is a sixth-year player that hasn’t gotten a ton of opportunities (74 career carries) but has Swinney’s trust whenever he’s on the field. Dukes missed part of fall camp but is back with the team while Mafah, a four-star recruit, is already the biggest back on the roster at 6-1 and 225 pounds.

“I don’t foresee a situation where one guy is playing,” Swinney said. “I think we’ve got a really, really talented group, and they’ll all have a hand in it.”

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Competition rages on in Clemson’s backfield

Earlier in the week, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said there wasn’t much separation among the Tigers’ running backs, going as far as to say all of them were still in the mix to top the depth chart at that position. That apparently wasn’t just …

That apparently wasn’t just coachspeak.

While Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace have been getting the bulk of the first-team reps during fall camp, true freshman Will Shipley also got some carries with the first team during Clemson’s first scrimmage Saturday. It’s making for a tight competition to replace the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, Travis Etienne, who’s now in training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“They all got in there and got some work with the ones,” Swinney said.

Dixon enters his senior season with 208 career carries while Pace, a sophomore, had 23 touches (18 carries, 5 receptions) in limited playing time as a true freshman. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott noted Pace had some impactful runs in the scrimmage, including one in the red zone where he pushed the pile for a touchdown.

“It was tough sledding today with what they were doing on defense,” Elliott said of the running game. “They had a bunch of guys around the box and playing aggressive, so we had try to do some different things — try to move the pocket, get the ball on the perimeter and use some RPO stuff.”

With the edge in experience, Dixon or Pace could be considered the favorite to be the first running back to take the field with Clemson’s offense in the season opener against Georgia on Sept. 4. But Shipley, who has consistently drawn the praise of coaches and teammates in camp for his speed and unusually advanced level of maturity for a first-year player, may be their stiffest competition.

The five-star signee, who’s been on campus since January, began camp rotating in with the second-team offense and has even gotten some first-team reps during certain team periods, but he’s not the only newcomer making an impression on Swinney and the rest of the coaching staff. Phil Mafah, another early enrollee who’s going through his second installation of the offense, repped mainly with the twos during the scrimmage, Swinney said.

Yet Swinney admitted Saturday wasn’t exactly the best situation in which to evaluate the backs and the running game as a whole. Clemson’s aggressiveness on defense was purposeful in trying to put D.J. Uiagalelei in uncomfortable situations in order to test the sophomore quarterback, so the passing game was more of the offensive focus in the first scrimmage.

That figures to change when the Tigers scrimmage again Thursday. Until then, the separation is likely to remain minimal in the backfield.

“Sometimes it’s a mixed bag because there are certain things you want to work on, and maybe it doesn’t match up to what you’re seeing on defense,” Swinney said. “Both sides are working on their stuff, you know? … So there were certain aspects we wanted to work on today.”

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How is Clemson’s running back competition shaping up?

Clemson has no small task when it comes to finding its next workhorse at running back, and whether or not a featured option even emerges in the Tigers’ backfield is still a question without an answer. But there is no shortage of candidates. Travis …

But there is no shortage of candidates.

Travis Etienne is no longer around. The ACC’s all-time leading rusher is in Florida going through his first NFL training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he likes the potential of the running backs still on his roster even if they don’t yet have the production to go with it.

The task for Swinney, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and running backs coach C.J. Spiller over the next three weeks is settling on the depth chart there, which remains fluid six practices in.

“From top to bottom, it’s a really good group,” Swinney said. “Certainly, those top guys, they will all have an opportunity.”

Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace entered fall camp listed as co-starters, and there hasn’t been much separation to speak of so far. Dixon, a senior, is the more experienced of the two having spent the last four years as Etienne’s primary backup, but Pace has gotten his fair share of reps with the first-team offense during portions of practice that have been open to the media for viewing.

Asked exactly how those first-team reps have been split between the two, Pace said it’s essentially been 50-50 but left some lines to read between with his answer. Ultimately, though, Pace said he isn’t exactly keeping count.

“I’m not going to say I’m getting the most reps because it doesn’t matter,” Pace said. “Whoever runs out there should get the job done.”

But one of Clemson’s running backs will take the field first when the Tigers open the season Sept. 4 against Georgia in the Duke’s Mayo Classic. Pace said he’s gotten more comfortable with the playbook since last season when he got 18 carries and caught seven passes in nine games as a true freshman, which he believes should help in his bid to do that.

Meanwhile, Dixon said he still wants to improve every facet of his game if he’s going to separate himself from the pack. The 5-10, 195-pounder has rushed for 1,372 yards and 13 touchdowns in 39 career games and ranks second only to Etienne in school history in yards per carry (6.6), but whether it’s durability, receiving skills or pass protection, Dixon said he still has a lot to prove to his coaches considering the role he’s pursuing.

“Even though I know I could be good at something, I want to be great at something,” Dixon said. “So I’m going to keep working on everything and perfecting my craft with everything I do.”

There’s also true freshman Will Shipley, who’s created plenty of buzz during camp. The five-star signee has impressed with his natural leadership skills and raw speed, which some teammates believe may be the best on the team. There’s also not quite as steep a learning curve at this point for him and fellow freshman Phil Mafa, who have been with the program since January after enrolling early.

“They don’t look like freshmen at all,” Swinney said.

Sixth-year senior Derien Rencher has largely been used as a reserve during his time with the Tigers, but Swinney said he fully trusts the 5-8, 195-pounder when he gets in a game. It’s made for plenty of heated competition that will continue among the backs as they aim for their spots in the pecking order.

“It’s like you can’t take no day off, so you’ve got to keep working and keep working hard each and every day,” Dixon said.

Swinney said every back is still in contention for the top spot on the depth chart. And given how tight the competition has been so far, he didn’t rule out the possibility of that fluidity remaining in place once the season arrives.

“All those guys have done a good job, but it’s going to be a tough competition,” Swinney said. “And it’s not like we’re going to just play one guy. That could be a game-by-game, week-by-week type of deal just based on how it all shakes out. But they can all play.”

Notebook: Day 1 observations of Clemson freshmen

The boys were back in town Friday and all eyes were on the freshmen as usual. Some were practicing for the first time as a Tiger and some were showing the improvements they have made since the spring. Thanks to a last minute decision from coach …

Thanks to a last minute decision from coach Swinney the media in attendance was allowed to watch the entire practice, which is very unusual at Clemson.

Here are some observations about the great freshmen from the first day of camp.

Will Shipley showed off his speed a number of times. On one play he broke open and looked like he might take it to the house but someone punched the ball out of his hands. Shipley also appeared to near the top of the depth chart already in the punt return drills.
Payton Page was in a green jersey Friday afternoon. Page had really transformed his body from when we saw him several times at Dudley High School in Greensboro.
Will Taylor practiced for the first time as a Tiger. Will worked exclusively at quarterback. Brandon Streeter game him plenty of coaching and was heard praising him on one of the pass completions.
Barrett Carter was working out at linebacker in his first day. In one drill he made a one handed catch that looked similar to a Sammy Watkins special. That play drew some praise from his teammates.
One summer arrival really caught my eye on Friday. Receiver Troy Stellato showed that he will fit in just fine at WRU. One one play Stellato made a good move on Nolan Turner and then went on to make a great catch.
We were able to confirm with our own eyes what Swinney said about freshman offensive lineman Tristan Leigh. In his first practice it was easy to tell that Leigh is physically ready to play for the Tigers. He will just need to learn the offense and then he will be ready to contribute. Tristan is a great addition to the o-line.
Beaux Collins was wearing a green jersey on Friday so he did not participate in some of the drills. At one point we also saw them icing one of his shoulders.
Decari Collins looked improved from what we saw in the spring. His size is just what Clemson likes at receiver and he made several very nice catches across the middle.
Safety Andrew Mukuba got plenty of hype in the spring and he looked good out there in day one of camp. He has great range and just looks like he is ready to hit someone. Mukuba will provide more athleticism at safety.
In any other season we might be looking for Denhoff to make a bigger impact. The Tigers are of course loaded at defensive end so he will be able to work on his body and come along slowly.
Zaire Patterson is another freshman that passes the ‘get off the bus test’. He looks physically ready to play. Similar to Denhoff he will be able to take his time, learn the system and take advantage of his opportunities.
Billy Wiles was impressive out there for the first day. On many of the drills they were running Wiles out with the third team behind Helms and Uiagalelei.
Ryan Linthicum is ready to win the hair game already. Linthicum brings some energy to the center position. With Rayburn coming on strong this spring Ryan will be able to learn the offense and take advantage of his opportunities this season. We expect him to be a very good one before he leaves Clemson.

Is Spiller more open to a pecking order heading to fall camp?

In the last seven seasons Clemson has had two different leading rushers, Travis Etienne and Wayne Gallman. As the Tigers prepare to enter fall camp in a couple of weeks, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory without a leading candidate who …

In the last seven seasons Clemson has had two different leading rushers, Travis Etienne and Wayne Gallman.

As the Tigers prepare to enter fall camp in a couple of weeks, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory without a leading candidate who has emerged as the starting running back.

Running backs coach C.J. Spiller beat around the bush when asked about a pecking order at the Clemson Football Media Day on Tuesday.

But Spiller doesn’t feel like his unit necessarily needs an alpha dog in order to be successful when the season kicks off.

“As far as having that one lead dog I don’t think we need that because it will take a collective effort from everybody,” Spiller said. “In years past you always had Travis but as a running back it is going to take multiple guys for us to be successful.”

Clemson does not lack talent in the running back room with Kobe Pace, Lyn-J Dixon, Phil Mafah and Will Shipley all vying for carries. In Spiller’s assessment all four tailbacks and Darien Rencher are needed for the group to maintain the high standard for the Tigers.

“You have to make sure everybody in your room is prepared because if somebody goes down that doesn’t mean the standard goes down, the standard won’t go down and it will be set at a high level,” Spiller said. “Guys that came through here like Terry Allen, James Davis, Wayne Gallman, Andre Ellington, Reggie Merriweather set that standard.”

Pace showed out in the Orange and White game this spring as he led both squads in rushing with six carries for 64 yards and a touchdown and impressed the coaching staff throughout spring practice. Dixon asserted himself as the No. 2 while Etienne toted the rock and brings experience to the unit as a senior.

The freshmen Mafah and Shipley will also compete for carries immediately during fall camp. Shipley enters with high expectations as a five-star talent that was rated as the No. 1 all-purpose back by some services with his speed and knack for winning games. Mafah brings a unique mix of speed and power that he showed in the spring.

“As far as ball carrying yes because you never know what is going to happen in the game,” Spiller said. “There is a high standard in our room so it doesn’t matter who runs out there those guys on the sideline watching you will expect you to get the job done.”

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Replacing Etienne will not be easy, but it is not why you think

Going into spring practices no one was really sure what to expect at the running back position at Clemson. The coaches had the task of replacing the ACC’s all-time leading rusher in Consensus All-American Travis Etienne. That was not going to be an …

That was not going to be an easy task, or so they thought. The Tigers’ ability to recruit the position at a high level seems to be paying off. So much so, new running backs coach C.J. Spiller says he will have no pecking order when it comes to the depth chart coming into fall camp, which will begin next month.

Besides having a career 1,000-yard runner in Lyn-J Dixon, Clemson also so saw tremendous progression from sophomore Kobe Pace, as well as in freshman running backs Phil Mafah and Will Shipley. The Tigers also have Darien Rencher and Michel Dukes in the mix, too.

Lyn-J Dixon, Sr., 5-10, 195: The rising senior enters 2021 with 1,372 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 208 career attempts and 183 yards on 18 catches in 38 games. He enters his fourth season ranked second in school history, behind Etienne, in yards per carry (6.60). He was banged up a good bit in 2020 due to a knee injury he suffered in the preseason. However, he played well for the Tigers down the stretch. Dixon rushed for 46 yards and scored a touchdown against Pittsburgh in Game 9. He also recorded a 19-yard touchdown run against Virginia Tech in the regular-season finale and had a 15-yard run against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. In the Spring Game, he carried the ball just four times, but he averaged 6.3 yards per carry.

Kobe Pace, So., 5-10, 215: As a true freshman in 2020, Pace carried the ball 18 times for 75 yards, while playing in nine games. He also caught five passes for 26 yards with one touchdown. In his 18 carries, he was not stopped behind the line of scrimmage. He scored his first career touchdown on a 7-yard reception against Georgia Tech. Pace led all runners with 69 yards on six carries in the Spring Game, including a 26-yard run.

Phil Mafah, Fr., 6-1, 220: The freshman ran for 38 yards on six carries, including the game winning score in the Spring Game. In three years at Grayson High (Loganville, Ga.), he rushed for 2,526 yards on 288 carries, an 8.8-yard per carry average, and scored 37 total touchdowns. He had 10 100-yard rushing games in 29 career games. Hailing from the same high school as former Clemson great and current New York Giants running back Wayne Gallman, Mafah is a different type of back than Gallman. He possesses an outstanding combination of size and speed. He is a downhill runner who is known for running between the tackles at 220-plus pounds, but also has enough speed to race past defenders and take the ball to the house. Mafah’s athleticism shows up on film, and he has the ability to make defenders miss in space.

Will Shipley, Fr., 5-11, 200: He was invited to play in the Under Armour All-America Game and was the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina and Charlotte Observer Player of the Year for 2019. He was the MVP of the 2019 state championship game when he rushed for 256 yards and scored four touchdowns in a win over Lee County. He rushed for 4,173 yards on 503 carries (8.3 yards per rush) in his three-year high school career, and also had 1,411 receiving yards on 84 catches for a 16.8-yard average. He scored 80 touchdowns in his career. Shipley, is a threat out of the backfield catching passes in addition to the weapon he is in the run game. He looks like a power back at 5-foot-11 and around 200 pounds, but also has top-end speed — as evidenced by his sub-4.5 second 40-yard dash time — and can not only run by defenders but has the physicality and toughness to run through tackles as well. He is adept at using his excellent vision to follow blocks and find running room.

Michel Dukes, Jr., 5-10, 205: Dukes has played in 18 games in his Clemson career, including eight games last year. He has rushed for 205 yards and scored two touchdowns on 40 career carries. In 2020, he ran the ball eight times for 55 yards.

Darien Rencher, *Gr., 5-8, 195: Originally a walk-on, Rencher turned into a team and community leader last season. The graduate student enters 2021 having recorded 74 carries for 375 yards and three touchdowns while playing in 35 games in his career. In 2020, he won the Disney Spirit Award, which is presented annually to college football’s most inspirational player, coach, team or figure. On the field, he played in all 12 games and rushed 24 times for 137 yards with one touchdown and caught two passes for 15 yards. His 50-yard touchdown against Virginia Tech in the season-finale was the second longest run of the season by any Clemson player.

Note: *redshirt

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Looking Ahead: Running Back

After signing two running backs as part of the 2021 class in five-star Will Shipley and four-star Phil Mafah, landing a running back is not a critical need for the Tigers in the 2022 class, though they remain in the hunt. Clemson continues to track …

Clemson continues to track some running backs, and one of those on the radar is Jennings (La.) four-star Trevor Etienne, of course the younger brother of former Clemson running back Travis Etienne.

Etienne participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp and attended the Tigers’ Elite Retreat in June. If he returns to campus for the All In Cookout this month as expected, it figures to further help Clemson’s chances with the nation’s No. 13 running back, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Beyond Etienne, the Tigers have only offered two other running backs in the 2022 class — five-star Emmanuel Henderson and four-star Branson Robinson. Henderson has already verbally committed to Alabama, while Robinson no-showed Clemson’s Elite Retreat and is down to Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee ahead of his scheduled decision date July 22.

Looking ahead to the 2023 class, Clemson has offered just two running backs in the next cycle, including the nation’s No. 1 running back in Lehigh Senior (Lehigh Acres, Fla) five-star Richard Young and the nation’s No. 3 back, Blessed Trinity Catholic (Roswell, GA) four-star Justice Haynes.

Young (pictured above) was recently offered directly by Dabo Swinney on an unofficial visit to Clemson’s campus.

Unofficial visit at Clemson 🐅🟠🟣!!! pic.twitter.com/UQd6e8wIUV

— Richard Young (@richardyoung239) June 26, 2021

Young (6-0, 190) is the No. 1 running back and No. 17 overall prospect in the 2023 class, per the 247sports Composite rankings.

As a sophomore last season, Young rushed for 982 yards and eight touchdowns on 100 carries, averaging 9.8 yards per attempt.

The Tigers have spent a little bit more time on Haynes, who took his unofficial visit back on June 1. He officially received an offer from the Tigers nearly 23 days later. His patience and high character paid off, leading to a fateful phone call with Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller.

On the behalf of Clemson’s offensive coaching staff, Spiller rewarded Haynes with the offer he had been waiting for.

“It means a lot,” Haynes said of receiving an offer from the Tigers. “Clemson is a prestigious school, they do things differently around there. Like I said, yes, it’s one of my dream schools, for them to offer me, it means a lot.”

Haynes (5-10, 195) is the No. 3 running back and No. 72 overall prospect in the 2023 class, per the 247sports Composite rankings.

For now, Clemson has maintained its focus on Young and Haynes.

Much less so, Rueben Owens, who is the nation’s No. 2 running back in the 2023 class. Even before he de-committed from the University of Texas, Owens was supposed to visit Clemson earlier this summer. That never took place and he hasn’t heard much of anything from Clemson or Spiller for that matter.

It appears, at least for the time being, that the Tigers are keeping their options limited, as far as the running backs in the Class of 2023 are concerned.

Some other running back prospects we are keeping tabs on are Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork’s Jarvis Green and Miami (Fla.) Norland four-star Javin Simpkins, who is a Georgia Tech commit.

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