Inside the Tigers' Top 10: A wide receiver, a kicker, and one of the nation's best backs

Adam Randall is looking to put together a healthy, impact sophomore season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Jul 13 07:00:20 GMT-04:00 2023

A wide receiver, a running back, and a kicker highlight the next players in our series of top players for 2023.

This list looks at a few different factors – the depth chart being the most important part – but also how valuable that player is to the team, how much depth is at that spot, and how much that player will contribute this season.

The next installment has Nos. 9, 8, and 7, and features a wide receiver who has all the talent in the world but needs to stay healthy, a critical component in Clemson’s kicking game, and one of the best running backs in the country.

Top Tigers for 2023

30. DE Tomarrion Parker, 29. CB Jeadyn Lukus, 28. OL Mitchell Mayes

27. RG Walker Parks, 26. P Aidan Swanson, 25. WR Beaux Collins

24. DE Justin Mascoll, 23. S Jalyn Phillips, 22. LB/S Wade Woodaz

21. RB Phil Mafah, 20. C Will Putnam, 19. CB Sheridan Jones

18. OT Blake Miller, 17. WR Antonio Williams, 16. TE Jake Briningstool

15. WR Cole Turner, 14. CB Nate Wiggins, 13. S RJ Mickens

12. DL Peter Woods, 11. S Andrew Mukuba, 10. DE Xavier Thomas

No. 9, Adam Randall, WR

Randall suffered a torn ACL in spring practice in 2022, and even though he returned to game action in game three, he was limited for most of the season. The talented in-state wideout enters 2023 with ten catches for 128 yards in 290 offensive snaps over 12 games (one start).

Randall finished his freshman season on a high note by recording a career-high 44 receiving yards and three receptions in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee, but he was limited in the spring after a minor procedure on his non-ACL-repaired knee.

Head coach Dabo Swinney said at the outset of spring practice that Randall wouldn’t be fully released until after the spring game.

Wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham said that the coaches and medical staff were constantly having to make sure Randall didn’t do too much.

“They’re having to say ‘Whoa’ all the time with him because he can probably do more than what’s prescribed,” Grisham said, “but they want to be safe and just be smart with him. He’s one of those guys kind of like Amari Rodgers was. They’re going to grind, and if they’re at home sitting around, they’re doing something to help them improve and to recover, and that’s who he is.

“So, he’s got a great attitude. He’s got a smile on his face. He’s engaged in the meetings. He’s taking notes as if he’s out there getting every rep, and that’s who he is. So, he’s handling it well, and he’s hungry, too.”

Grisham said Randall just has to be patient.

“He hated how it went down last year because he wanted to be an All-American, and he could have been,” Grisham said. “But he’s got his time. His time will come, and I am excited to help him achieve his dreams.”

No. 8, Robert Gunn, PK

Clemson has had a long period of kicking consistency. BT Potter was steady from 2019-2022, and before that you can go back to Greg Huegel, Alex Spence, and even back to Chandler Catanzaro and Richard Jackson. Now the Tigers have a bit of an unknown quantity in Gunn.

Gunn effectively served a year in residence as Potter’s understudy in his freshman campaign in 2022. He enters his redshirt freshman season as the lone placekicker on scholarship, but he is joined by returning walk-ons Quinn Castner and Hogan Morton in competition for that spot in 2023.

Gunn played in three contests while redshirting, making his lone PAT attempt and producing touchbacks on all five of his kickoffs. Gunn was still working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in high school but used his time to learn from Potter.

“I learned a lot. Sometimes I say, 'Sorry man, for asking you so many questions,' because I was just asking him a lot of questions,” Gunn said. “Just trying to learn and just grasp what he did, so when it's my turn that I'm ready. About his mental game, what is he doing in pre-game? What is his situations and stuff? It's awesome to have him here. He's here in spring sometimes, so I still ask him some questions. Like, hey man, what should I do about this or that?”

Gunn said he was able to learn the most important part of being a kicker.

“One thing that stuck out to me from BT was just like, you miss a kick, just flush it. Just move on from that kick. So every kick has its own life, just (a) one-kick mentality,” he said. “You just focus on your thought process and your routine and stuff. You miss it, you just flush it, and you go back and worry about the next kick.”

No. 7, Will Shipley, RB

There just isn’t much to say about Shipley that you don’t already know. However, Shipley thinks he’s ready to thrive in Garrett Riley’s offense.

He is one of the nation’s most dynamic and versatile running backs who enters the 2023 season 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). He also has 27 career kickoff returns for 704 yards (26.1 avg.), as well as one pass attempt for a two-yard touchdown.

Shipley 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). He 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.

Shipley was asked what makes him different than other running backs.

“I think it’s my ability to do anything that I’m asked to do,” Shipley said. “And just my toughness, I switch into a mode that sometimes I don’t even like when I’m not on, right? Then, the adrenaline gets going. I’ve laid down my life on the field to get to get a win, and for my brothers, so I guess when I get on that field, something different happens. Then the all-purpose ability and being able to catch the football and I think it’s something that I’ve shown in the past two years, but there hasn’t been much opportunity to do so.”

Shipley said he couldn’t wait to see what he can do in Riley’s offense, which is designed to get the best offensive players matched up against the weakest defenders on the defense.

“I’ve had some hurdles to get over with that -- so pumped about Coach Riley and things that I think are going to come to fruition this year, and I’ll really be able to show people what I can do,” Shipley said. “Catching the ball out of the backfield, playing in the slot and just being able to create matchups anywhere on the field.”

Shipley then went on to say that he doesn’t think of himself as a running back. He’s just a football player.

“I don’t like to think of myself as (a) running back,” Shipley said. “But, at the same time, I don’t ever want people to think that I won’t take 20 carries in between the tackles. I love it. I love that stuff (and) I love getting hit, man. That’s what people don’t realize about me, and you can ask my teammates, but I’m just crazy out there. Once I switch into that football player mode, I love every part of it.”