Clemson football: Kobe Pace ‘turned heads’ nationally during spring practice 2021

Clemson football running backs coach C.J. Spiller is going to have quite the decision on his hands as the Tigers inch closer and closer to the start of the 2021 season.

We’ve officially closed up shop on the 2021 Clemson football spring camp and the Tigers are now turning their attention to the ‘Transformation Phase,’ which will include a long summer full of grueling workouts as they prepare for the upcoming season.

While there are plenty of questions pertaining to Clemson as we head into the summer, one area of excitement happens to be the running back room.

Clemson football RB Kobe Pace is turning heads nationally because of his spring performance

We all thought coming into the spring that Lyn-J Dixon would be the unquestioned starter and that we would see a major battle between a whole host of guys for the pecking order behind him.

While Dixon did have a good spring and he is still considered the starter at the position, there’s no question that he’s going to have competition this fall, and much of it will be coming from sophomore RB Kobe Pace.

Pace isn’t just drawing attention from Clemson football fans for his performance in the spring game, but he is receiving attention nationally as well.

Bleacher Report just published an article on players who were ‘turning heads’ during spring and had nothing but glowing words to say about Pace.

"Kobe Pace wasn’t a heralded prospect out of Georgia, but the 3-star back looked like he was going to be a big piece of the committee to replace star Travis Etienne. The Tigers can depend on Lyn-J Dixon and are breaking in freshmen Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, but Pace set the pace this spring.The 5’10”, 215-pound sophomore had a big spring game (69 yards on six carries) and was steady leading up to it, too.SI.com’s Owen Watterson mentioned Pace as the running back who stands to gain the most. Coach Dabo Swinney called Pace a “grown man” in another Watterson article.Before you scoff at a former little-known recruit like Pace making that kind of progress, remember Etienne wasn’t a huge prospect out of high school, either. And while no one player is going to replace a multiyear ACC Offensive Player of the Year, the Tigers aren’t asking them to.They want a group of runners to fill that void, and Pace proved this spring he’s going to be one of them."

It’s not just in Clemson circles that we’re starting to hear Pace’s name being mentioned as a legitimate threat to get a ton of carries this fall. We’re even hearing it nationally from publications like ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report.

There’s plenty of talent in the running back room, with the likes of Dixon, Pace, Phil Mafah, Will Shipley, Chez Mellusi, Michel Dukes and Darien Rencher, but Pace stood out above the rest for not just the spring game, but for most of spring camp.

There’s no doubt he’s turning heads and it’s going to be interesting to see what the explosive sophomore is able to accomplish in his second season with the Tigers.