Believe it or not, Dabo Swinney has had more starting quarterbacks during his tenure at Clemson than running backs.
In his 16-plus years as Clemson’s head coach, Swinney has had just eight true starting running backs, which began with James Davis and C.J. Spiller back in 2008. Who are the other six?
Below is who I think are the best running backs under Dabo Swinney.
8 Phil Mafah (2023)
Like Cade Klubnik at quarterback, Mafah will get an opportunity to move up on this list. During his 36-game career to this point, he has rushed for 1,772 yards and 20 touchdowns as well as recorded 37 receptions for 206 yards. He has started seven games. Mafah scored a bowl-record four touchdowns in the Tigers’ Gator Bowl win over Kentucky. He also ran for 186 yards on 36 carries in Clemson’s win over Notre Dame last year. His 36 carries were the most by a Clemson running back since 1997 and tied for the most all-time.
7 Roderick McDowell (2013)
McDowell earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2013 after running for 1,025 yards and five touchdowns in 2013. He also had two touchdown receptions that year. He was just the 13 th Clemson Tiger at the time to run for 1,000 yards in a season.
6 Will Shipley (2021-’23)
Shipley, who entered the NFL Draft after the 2023 season, was a dynamic and versatile running back for Swinney the last three years. He recorded 2,747 yards and 31 touchdowns and had 602 yards and two touchdowns on 85 receptions during his 36 career games (27 starts).
5 James Davis (2008)
Davis played for Swinney after Tommy Bowden and Clemson parted ways just six games into the 2008 season. His skillset and leadership played a huge role in Swinney winning the head coaching position that year. Davis finished his career as the Tigers’ second leading runner of all-time and, at the time, was one of just two running backs in Clemson history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He ran for 751 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2008, as the Tigers finished the regular season with a strong 4-2 record after Bowden’s dismissal.
4 Andre Ellington (2010-’12)
Ellington had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons (2011,12) to become just the third running back in school history, at the time to reach, 1,000 rushing yards in two different seasons (Raymond Priester (1995 and ’96) and James Davis (2006 and ’07) were the others. He ran for 3,436 yards and 33 touchdowns and had 59 receptions for 505 yards and two touchdowns in 49 career games (33 starts). Ellington finished his career third in school history in rushing touchdowns and third in all-purpose yards (4,586).
3 Wayne Gallman (2014-’16)
After three seasons, Gallman left Clemson as one of the school’s most decorated and productive running backs in history. He ran for 3,429 rushing yards with 34 touchdowns in 42 games (37 starts). He also added 65 career receptions for 473 yards and two touchdowns and broke Raymond Priester’s single-season school record for rushing yards in 2015, and Priester’s career record for 100-yard rushing games in 2016. He achieved 100 or more yards in 17 games. Clemson was 17-0 when he ran for 100 or more yards during his career. He also finished his career third in Clemson history in rushing touchdowns and fifth in rushing yards.
2 C.J. Spiller (2008 & ’09)
Spiller is without a doubt the best overall player in Clemson history. However, this list is about the best running backs in the Dabo Swinney era, and there is no doubt Spiller is not the best running back. I will get back to that in the paragraph below. As for Spiller, he was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He ran for 3,547 rushing yards and had 1,420 receiving yards in his Clemson career. The 2009 ACC Player of the Year also ran for 32 touchdowns. In the 2009 ACC Championship Game, Spiller ran for 234 yards and four touchdowns on his way to being named the game’s MVP, the only time in any conference championship game in college football that the MVP came from the losing team.
1 Travis Etienne (2017-’20)
Etienne is not only the best running back of the Dabo Swinney era, but he is the best running back in the history of the ACC. Twice he was named the league’s MVP (2018 and 2019). He was also named the MVP of the 2018 ACC Championship Game. Etienne finished his college career as the ACC’s all-time rushing leader, as well as its all-time leader in total touchdowns (78), rushing touchdowns (70) and points (468). Etienne became the ACC’s all-time rushing leader thanks to 4,952 yards. He also caught 102 passes for 1,155 and eight receiving touchdowns while playing in 55 games (42 starts). Etienne’s career is considered one of the more prolific careers in the history of college football, as he averaged a Clemson record 7.22 yards per carry.
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