Clemson's Will Shipley ranked outside top-10 best returning RBs |
247Sports ranked the Top 25 returning running backs in college football and Clemson's star returning running back is just outside the Top 10.
The former 5-star prospect Will Shipley was ranked 11th in the group. "Clemson is looking to get back to the College Football Playoff and will rely heavily on Will Shipley with inexperienced starter Cade Klubnik at quarterback. Shipley had four games where he recorded over 120 yards rushing, totaling 1,182 on the year with 15 touchdowns on 210 carries," said 247Sports' Raymond Lucas Jr. Shipley (83.2) and teammate Phil Mafah (83.9) were pretty even in Pro Football Focus' run game grade last season, while Shipley (67.7) had a slight edge in the passing game on Mafah (66.6). Mafah rushed for 515 yards and four scores, averaging 5.3 yards per carry with nine catches for 48 yards as well. Florida State's Trey Benson (9) is the lone running back on the list who's on Clemson's schedule. "Instead of entering the NFL Draft, Trey Benson chose to return to Florida State and gives the Seminoles a punch that could be heavy enough to help guide them to the College Football Playoff. Benson is coming off a season where he picked up 990 yards and nine touchdowns on 154 carries. When Florida State went on a three-game losing streak, Benson totaled just 17 carries. From that point on, he received double-digit carries in each game– all victories. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis is the star of the show, but Benson is vital to the Notes' 2023 aspirations," said Lucas. Shipley Clemson profile One of the nation’s most dynamic and versatile running backs who enters 2023 with 1,920 yards and 26 touchdowns on 359 career rushing attempts and 358 yards on 54 career receptions in 1,024 offensive snaps over 24 career games (19 starts) … also enters 2023 credited with 27 career kickoff returns for 704 yards (26.1 avg.) as well as one pass attempt for a two-yard touchdown … made an instant impact as a freshman in 2021 and followed that campaign with a 2022 season in which he became the first player in ACC history to be selected as a first-team All-ACC honoree in three different categories (running back, all-purpose and specialist) and was one of four finalists for the Paul Hornung Award (nation’s most versatile player) … joined Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard as the only ACC players to rush for 11 or more touchdowns in both their freshman and sophomore campaigns since 2000 … two-time All-ACC Academic Team selection and academic standout who in 2022 became Clemson’s first Academic All-American since 2012.
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