Trevor Lawrence had Travis Etienne. Deshaun Watson had Wayne Gallman (among others). DJ Uiagalelei has Will Shipley, Kobe Pace and Phil Mafah. This group has got to come up big this year to put DJ in their “air”.
The lone 2022 running back is Clemson legacy Keith Adams Jr. Adams won’t be in until the summer where he will get plenty of work early. Both Shipley and Pace had minor surgeries after the season and won’t see action in the spring game. That makes Mafah “the man”. Is there a hidden gem hiding in the background somewhere?
Watch #20 in the backfield in the spring game. Domonique Thomas transferred in from Union College in Kentucky to pursue his dream at Clemson. Thomas, 5-8 212, reminds people of former Dallas running back Robert Newhouse. As a senior in 2019 at Ohatchee High School in Alabama, he rushed for 2,020 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Clemson identified three running backs in the 2023 class that the Tigers went after. At this time, it doesn’t look like any of them will make their way to Clemson.
The #1 running back in the country, Richard Young out of Lehigh Acres, Florida, was offered early but hasn’t really expressed a lot of interest. He is getting a lot of attention from everyone.
Justice Haynes, Roswell, Georgia, is the #3 running back in the country but is considered a strong lean towards the Georgia Bulldogs right now. Kirby will do everything he can to keep this guy from ending up anywhere but UGA.
Cedric Baxter, Jr., out of Orlando, Florida, was offered in late February and is ranked as the #4 running back in the country in this class. Baxter, 6-1 215, put up monster numbers for Edgewater High School, and has 52 offers. He will be a tough get for the Tigers.
Georgia excels at it’s running game and so far in this class, they have offered 7 running backs, including the three the Tigers have offered. As you can see, Clemson is struggling to find a running back in the 2023 class. Lucky for us, signing day is still 9 months away and this staff still has a lot of time to find that “fit”.
