Dabo Swinney reveals how Kobe Pace injury opens the door for other running backs

Clemson lost reserve running back Kobe Pace to a high ankle sprain he suffered in their week 4 matchup against Wake Forest. Pace had a procedure on his ankle last week that will sideline him for the next few weeks, which opens up some carries for some of Clemson’s other running backs. Head coach Dabo Swinney talked about which running backs will likely receive more touches in Pace’s absence starting with Domonique Thomas.

“Domonique, he’ll be our third guy, Domonique Thomas,” Swinney said. “And I love Domonique Thomas and I hate that he’s another one of those guys, kinda like I was saying with our OL, I hate that we haven’t been able to get him more opportunity because he’s a really good player.”

Thomas has only received five carries for the Tigers so far this season, but Swinney is convinced his skill set will impress once he does finally get some playing time for Clemson.

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“But his time will come, it’ll come at some point and ya’ll are gonna go like ‘wow, where did that guy come from?’ He’s a really tough, hard-to-tackle guy. He’s got great vision, he’s got great hips, you wouldn’t think that he’s a big, strong, thick kid but he’s a really really good runner, big quads, big ones, but he’ll move up,” Swinney said.

Dabo also spoke on freshman running back Keith Adams, who will have to stay ready now for the Tiger’s offense due to their lack of depth following Pace’s injury.

“And then we’re trying to redshirt Kieth, so we’re kinda holding him, but he’ll have to be ready and travel,” Swinney said. “I think he’s played one game so we’ve still got three games that we can play him in and not burn his redshirt.”

The good news for the Tigers is that their top two running backs who take the majority of their carries are healthy in Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, who have combined for 115 carries and 608 yards on the ground so far this season.

“And we feel good about both of those guys, but it’s unfortunate because we’re gonna need Kobe at some point, but hopefully it will be a good opportunity for Will and Mafah. I thought Mafah had a great game the other night, 5.1 a carry and he’s starting to really hit his stride a little bit,” Swinney said. “But our hope is Kobe’s ready to go that November run when we’re here back at home stretch.”

The Tigers will have to lean on some of their top and reserve running backs until Pace returns, but can also lean more on their quarterback DJ Uiagalelei in the run game, who’s the Tiger’s second-leading rusher. Clemson takes on the ACC’s second-best rushing offense on the road this weekend, as they take on Florida State in a 7:30 p.m. primetime matchup that will air on ABC.