Swinney Not Currently Planning On Looking to Portal for Fifth RB

Heading into the 2021 season, Clemson had a deep stable of running backs. Six, to be exact, when the team generally likes to carry five.

Since then, Lyn-J Dixon and Michel Dukes have transferred out and Darien Rencher has exhausted his eligibility, leaving the team with just three scholarship backs.

Keith Adams Jr was added in the 2022 class, but the Tigers also missed on one, Andrew Paul, who chose to sign with Georgia, leaving Clemson currently sitting with just four scholarship running backs.

However, the three players at the top of the depth chart are high-end talents. Kobe Pace, Will Shipley and Phil Mafah have all proven their worth, making it a little harder to attract talent, and despite being a body short, head coach Dabo Swinney likes what the Tigers currently have.

“I mean, we’re in a great spot,” Swinney said on National Signing Day. “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.”

If the Tigers need any added depth, don’t expect Swinney to look to the transfer portal. The head coach is not only comfortable with the four scholarship backs on the roster, he also likes the walk-on players he has at the position.

“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.”