Shipley says running backs are closer now after "some jealousy arose" earlier in season

Shipley is now one of the leaders of the offense.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Nov 22 14:39:53 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON - Freshman running Will Shipley hinted Monday that one of the reasons Clemson's running backs have improved in recent weeks can be credited to addition by subtraction.

Shipley and Kobe Pace combined for 43 carries, 303 yards, and four touchdowns in the last Saturday’s 48-27 victory over Wake Forest in Clemson’s best rushing effort since a win over Wofford in November in 2019.

Shipley had 19 carries for 113 yards and Pace carried the ball 24 times for 191 yards. Shipley added a two-yard touchdown pass out of the Wildcat. The improved play of the running backs can be credited to a room that now pulls for each other, regardless of who gets the most carries or goes out on the field first.

“It's a lot of fun to know they put the trust in to combine for 43 carries and produce the way we did. I think it goes to show how much we have improved over the season,” Shipley said. “You see the relationship that we have been able to create and how happy we are for each other. I think that's a great sign of how our room is. I think there was a lot of jealousy and bad makeup in our room earlier in the season. The happiness for one another that we have is just great, great to know that someone can prosper and that someone else is happy for him rather than wish for his downfall in the background.”

Running back Lyn-J Dixon drew limited carries early in the season and announced he was entering the transfer portal in late September. Veteran reserve Mikey Dukes announced his intentions a month later, leaving Pace, Shipley, Phil Mafah and Darien Rencher as the only scholarship backs on the roster.

Shipley said those departures made the remaining backs closer as a group.

“In the obvious way, we've lost a couple of soldiers. But I think is what it's done is make us so much closer as a group,” Shipley said. “We've had so much adversity with guys transferring out and the past couple of weeks - Kobe out with Covid and me facing my injury and Phil (Mafah) fighting through an injury and Darien Rencher being that leader for us - has made us so much stronger. When one guy goes down, another guy steps up and we can trust one another with our lives. I trust every single guy in that room with anything. Knowing that and having that knowledge is great.”

He then said that jealousy can arise when there are more talented players than carries.

“You find that in a lot of programs. I don't know if jealousy is the right word, but it's tough when you have so many guys that are competitors, so many guys that love to compete, and not everyone is going to get their bite because we have so many guys and we are such a great program,” Shipley said. “It was hard early on because we had five or six guys that could all produce and not everyone was able to. So I think some jealousy arose, some emotions arose, but everything has figured itself out. God has a funny way of panning everything out and it's done that.”

Shipley credited running backs coach CJ Spiller for holding the room together.

“I am sure he has seen greater pressures in his life than handling a running back room with some emotions and jealousy and stuff like that,” he said. “He handled it great. He is great with having those relationships and communicating in a great way with all of his players. My experience with him is that he will call you into a room and he will have the conversation that you need to have and let you hear what you need to hear. He is also there for you in whatever way you need, on or off the field. How he handled that as a manager and as a leader, he handled it great.”