Clemson football: A way-too-early projection of 2023 starters

CLEMSON — There were disappointed faces at the dais after Clemson's lackluster performance in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30, but coach Dabo Swinney didn't need to look far to flip his perspective.

His freshman quarterback, Cade Klubnik, was sitting to Swinney's left. His sophomore running back, Will Shipley, was a few feet down the table. The only senior was defensive end K.J. Henry, but Swinney had a slew of other seniors set to declare a return in the days to come.

"There's a lot of great days ahead," Swinney said. "A lot of great days ahead."

Clemson didn't achieve all it desired in 2022, but the Tigers, on paper, have talent returning in '23. Their starting quarterback and leading receiver coming out of the bowl were freshmen. They had a sophomore duo at running back and four of five starters returning on the offensive line.

Plus, Swinney went out and hired Garrett Riley, offensive coordinator at TCU, to revamp the Tigers' scheme.

That offense, along with an experienced defense, convinced Swinney there are better days ahead for Clemson. Let's take a way-too-early look at what the Tigers' starting lineup might look like in 2023.

Quarterback

Cade Klubnik

There was curiosity heading into the 2022 season about whether Klubnik could unseat DJ Uiagalelei. It inevitably happened, as the freshman from Texas lit up North Carolina’s secondary in the ACC title game and moved the ball — but struggled to score — versus Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.

Klubnik’s potential as both a runner and passer is certainly tantalizing, especially with Riley arriving to run the offense after transforming TCU’s Max Duggan into a Heisman hopeful in 2022. This is clearly an important offseason, absorbing a new playbook, continuing to put himself out front as a leader of the offense, and adding to his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame.

Obviously, the Tigers will hope Klubnik stays healthy, and the presence of senior transfer Paul Tyson may allow freshman Christopher Vizzina to redshirt. But Vizzina, who arrived in January, will likely have to be ready at some point. 

Running back

Will Shipley

Shipley figures to remain Clemson’s featured rusher, but it will be intriguing to see how much his rising junior classmate, Phil Mafah, continues to develop and balances this 1-2 punch.

Mafah, at 6-1, 230 pounds, has a patience to the hole, and a power running through it, that looks a lot like an NFL-caliber talent. At the same time, Shipley has elite versatility with his ability to cut back, accelerate, and pop off big plays. He also showed improvement as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.

Clemson can’t go wrong riding either one, but Shipley (1,182 yards) certainly has a lead over Mafah (515) in terms of opportunity and production. Shipley was the only player in the country with more than 1,150 yards rushing, 200 yards receiving, and 300 kickoff return yards.

Wide receivers

Beaux Collins, Antonio Williams, Adam Randall

This will be an interesting group to watch following Riley’s hire, because he needs receivers who can make plays downfield in his Air Raid scheme, and that hasn’t been the Tigers’ forte of late.

Of the Tigers’ top five receivers, senior Joseph Ngata led the group with 12.8 yards per catch. TCU’s top yard-gainers through the air, Quentin Johnston and Taye Barber, rattled off 17.8 and 16.6 yards per reception, respectively.

Williams seems locked into the slot position, given that he just led the Tigers in receiving yards (604) as a freshman. Collins and Randall are two big-bodied outside receivers, but Collins (373 yards) dealt with shoulder injuries as a sophomore and Randall (128 yards) wasn’t particularly explosive as he made his way back from a spring ACL tear.

There's talent here, it's just an unpredictable mix given its youth. Case in point, redshirt freshman Cole Turner, who only played two years of high school football but flashed some deep speed in a 100-yard game in the ACC championship. He could easily find himself in the mix with Collins and Randall. More than a few freshmen have found opportunity in Clemson’s receiving corps of late, too, so incoming prospects like Noble Johnson, Ronan Hanafin, and Tyler Brown shouldn’t be counted out, either.

Tight end

Jake Briningstool

With Davis Allen graduating, rising junior Jake Briningstool is the clear No. 1 at the tight end position. Built like an oversized receiver at 6-6, 230 pounds, Bringinstool is perfectly molded for a tight end in the Air Raid, because he can split out into the slot and cause matchup issues for linebackers and safeties.

Sage Ennis, a redshirt junior, will have a chance to push for playing time, but, again, oversized receiver types fit well in Riley’s scheme and an incoming freshman, Olsen Patt Henry, might fit the bill behind Briningstool as a very athletic pass-catcher at 6-3, 220-plus pounds.

Offensive line

LT Blake Miller, LG Collin Sadler, C Will Putnam, RG Walker Parks, RT Marcus Tate

The only starter who doesn’t return is left tackle Jordan McFadden, so the Tigers have a big hole but many options to fill it.

In this scenario, Miller flips from right tackle to left, while a prep tackle in Tate moves outside after two years at guard. Redshirt freshman Collin Sadler, who has a nasty streak to him, could bring that persona at left guard, while Putnam and Parks remain a veteran center-guard combo.

But that's just one permutation. Maybe a rising redshirt sophomore like Tristan Leigh, once a five-star recruit, rounds into form at tackle with another offseason. Or maybe Mitchell Mayes, who has filled in at both guard and tackle, proves to be more than a versatile sub. Or maybe it’s Bryn Tucker or Dietrick Pennington (or someone else) who emerges on the interior line.

The fifth spot in this group seems wide open, but it seems safe to peg Miller, Putnam, and Parks as starters. Tate will probably be limited in spring as he returns from a knee injury, but he remains an incumbent.

Defensive line

DE Xavier Thomas, DT Tyler Davis, DT Ruke Orhorhoro, DE Justin Mascoll

Davis, an All-American, and Orhorhoro, a buzz-worthy pro prospect, decided to forego the NFL in '23 and return to Clemson for a fifth season. They are the duo inside, but Davis and Orhorhoro will be pushed by rising juniors in Tré Williams and Payton Page. Defensive tackle has a chance to be a standout position group, even with Bryan Bresee moving on.

On the outside, Thomas and Mascoll return for sixth seasons. Thomas was limited to just three games by foot injuries, and Mascoll has lived in the shadow of the NFL-bound Myles Murphy. But now two veterans will have a chance to put their 2,516 combined snaps to use on the edge.

Davis, Orhorhoro, Thomas, and Mascoll seem to make up a clear-cut top four, but it would probably be wise to leave some room for the possibility that freshman Peter Woods, who projects as a contributor at either end or tackle, finds his way onto the field somewhere. Freshman defensive end Tomarrion Parker should also have a chance to push for snaps.

Linebackers

WLB Barrett Carter, MLB Jeremiah Trotter, SAM Wade Woodaz

Because of an ankle injury to NFL-bound junior Trenton Simpson late in the season, the linebacker corps of the future was on the field with Woodaz at strong-side linebacker alongside Trotter (middle) and Carter (weak-side).

There is no reason to believe this won't be the trio in '23. Trotter and Carter established themselves as one of the more talented linebacker duos in the country. Carter plays at 225 pounds with safety speed, and Trotter has fully embraced the tone-setting “Axe Man” lineage of his All-Pro fathers.

There will be depth behind Woodaz with Jamal Anderson — the son of the former Falcon running back — bringing similar versatility. But Woodaz really came along toward the end of the 2022 season. A few months in the weight room should do wonders for a 6-3, 215-pounder with safety-like range.

Defensive backs

CB Sheridan Jones, CB Nate Wiggins, S Andrew Mukuba, S Jalyn Phillips

The secondary was going to be more seasoned in 2023, regardless, but the return of fifth-year seniors in Jones and Phillips makes it ultra-experienced.

The quartet of Phillips, Mukuba, Tyler Venables, and RJ Mickens return 3,984 career snaps, while a sledgehammer in Sherrod Covil Jr. could be primed to make a push as a sophomore. At cornerback, Jones has logged 1,376 snaps by himself, while Wiggins really came into his own with 767 snaps as a first-year starter in '22, highlighted by his 98-yard pick-6 in the ACC title game.

There should be more depth at corner if Toriano Pride Jr. and Jeadyn Lukus can take similar leaps as sophomores, but that’s less of a desperate need with Jones and Wiggins back.

Special teams

K Robert Gunn III, P Aidan Swanson

The value of an experienced kicker oftentimes isn’t recognized until they are gone, and it remains to see how much that will be the case with B.T. Potter.

But the Tigers certainly have a talented replacement in Gunn, who was ranked as the No. 3 kicker in the 2022 class by 247Sports. In his last two seasons of high school, Gunn hit 52 of his 55 kickoffs for touchbacks. The redshirting freshman produced touchbacks on all five of his kickoffs for Clemson last season, hitting his one and only extra point try versus Georgia Tech. A lot more figures to be on his shoulders in ’23.

Swanson now has a full season as Clemson’s punter under his belt, averaging 42.3 yards per boot. The fifth-year senior figures to be the starter again, unless someone like redshirting freshman Jack Smith (who had a punt of 47 yards in the win over UNC) makes big strides this offseason.