Swinney says running backs room is in a good spot with four backs

Shipley (1) and Pace (20) celebrate a touchdown.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Feb 06 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson exited last spring with seven running backs on the depth chart, entered the fall with six, and ended the season with just three after transfers and attrition paid a toll. The Tigers enter this spring with just three scholarship running backs and hope to enter fall camp with four, but head coach Dabo Swinney thinks the running backs room is in a great spot.

Chez Mellusi transferred out after the spring game last year, wound up at Wisconsin and rushed for 815 yards on 173 carries for the Badgers before his season ended with a knee injury.

The Tigers entered fall camp with Lyn-J Dixon atop the depth chart, followed by Kobe Pace, Will Shipley, Michel Dukes, Phil Mafah, and Darien Rencher. But Dixon transferred out in late September (and wound up at West Virginia), and Dukes followed that with a transfer to USF.

Rencher has graduated, leaving Shipley, Pace, and Mafah as the only scholarship backs heading into the spring. Still, Swinney thinks the Tigers are in good shape.

“I mean, we're in a great spot,” Swinney said last week. "It's one of those things. You have years like this. I mean, you got two elite, elite, elite freshmen, and an elite sophomore, you know, it's hard sometimes on the recruiting trail. Because these kids, they're not dumb. They know, alright, you gonna have to be a little more patient here with that type of group."

The Tigers signed 3-star running back Keith Adams last week, and Adams will enroll for the Summer II sessions in late June and will hopefully be ready when fall camp starts in early August. Adams comes from good bloodlines - Keith Adams, Sr., was a standout linebacker for the Tigers from 1998-2000.

Nicknamed "The Termite” by his teammates because of his size, Adams terrorized opponents in 1999 when he registered 186 tackles (led the nation and set school record), had 35 tackles for loss (led the nation and set school record) and 16 sacks (second in the nation and set school record). He set a school record with 27 tackles against the University of South Carolina in the rivalry game.

Julius Adams played 206 games for the New England Patriots during a stellar NFL career. Julius is the father of Keith Adams, Sr., and therefore the grandfather of Adams, Jr.

“He kind of plays running back like his dad playing linebacker," Swinney said of the younger Adams. "Just relentless, relentless. And a high motor. He's physical, he's tough, he's a finisher. He scores a lot of touchdowns. He did that in Georgia, and then he goes out to Utah and I think he led the state out there. So he's got a mentality and I love his spirit."

Will the Tigers look at the transfer portal and add a little depth to a running backs room that seems to be short-staffed? Swinney said the Tigers like to keep five scholarship running backs, but he has a couple of walk-ons that show promise and he hopes that group stays healthy.

"We like the four that we got," Swinney said. "We've got a couple of really good, high-end walk-ons that we are excited about as well. And then, hopefully, we'll be in good shape. But there's only one ball and we feel like those three, that'll be kind of a three-headed monster for us. And then we'll hopefully be able to bring Keith along as we go throughout the year."