Clemson running back Will Shipley could have major role from Day 1

Clemson has to replace two major stars in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne, both of whom were selected in the first round of April’s NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

DJ Uiagalelei is set to take over at quarterback. At running back, freshman Shipley could make a major impact for the Tigers right away.

Shipley could see touches right away

Lyn-J Dixon was third on the team in rushing last season behind Lawrence and Etienne, and Dixon returns this season. He had 190 yards and two touchdowns on 42 attempts. Behind Dixon, the running back room is wide open. Shipley could contend for touches out of the backfield from day one. In his three-year high school career, Shipley scored 80 touchdowns.

Bruce Feldman loves Shipley’s upside as a rusher in Clemson’s offense.

“Not only did they (Clemson) lose Trevor Lawrence, but they lost Travis Etienne who was a great all-around running back,” Feldman said on the Fox Big Noon Kickoff preview show. “I talked to one Clemson coach yesterday and asked him how Will Shipley was doing. This is a guy who was a state sprint champ. Really tremendous speed, great hands. But the thing that the coach told me yesterday was that they have bee pleasantly surprised with how physical Will Shipley has been running between the tackles. I said, ‘Travis Etienne, who had breakaway speed but was also really physical, does he have those kinds of capabilities right now?’ The word was he’s a really strong upper body kid.

“He’s probably not quite there yet in terms of lower body strength, so I don’t know if you will see him get quite the workload that you would see last year. I don’t think he’ll pick up exactly where Travis Etienne became as a feature back, where you could do so much with him on all three downs. But this guy is going to be a dynamic, big-play weapon. Don’t underestimate his ability to run inside the tackles because that is something that has really impressed his coaches so far in camp.”

There are big shoes to fill in replacing Etienne

Etienne really broke out as a sophomore at Clemson. In Clemson’s 2018 national title run, Etienne ran for 1,658 yards and 26 total touchdowns. As a junior, he accounted for 2,046 yards from scrimmage and 23 total touchdowns. In his senior season, Etienne had 1,502 yards from scrimmage and 16 total touchdowns. Clemson has a clear replacement for Lawrence in Uiagalelei. Whether or not Shipley emerges as Etienne’s replacement will be an important factor for Clemson this year.

Following his dominant 2018 season, Etienne finished seventh in Heisman voting. In 2019, he was ninth. His strong play and impressive numbers earned him a first round draft selection. After taking Lawrence first overall, the Jacksonville Jaguars used their 25^th overall pick on Etienne, pairing the college duo as the two building blocks of their offense.

Shipley is unlikely to see the same volume that Etienne had right away, but he has a great chance to make a big impact at Clemson very quickly.