Clemson Football: 5 reasons the Tigers should be nation’s No. 1 team
By Dana Becker
3. Batman and Robin have nothing on Travis and Tavien
When Wayne Gallman was brought to Clemson, he faced some stiff competition for carries out of the backfield.
All Gallman did was post back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and earn a spot with the New York Giants in the NFL.
However, when Gallman decided to leave early alongside Deshaun Watson, Mike Williams and others from the national championship roster, the one area Dabo Swinney and company were not concerned with was running back.
That’s because top recruit Tavien Feaster was coming back and the Tigers had swiped another top recruit, Travis Etienne, out of Louisiana to join him. Adam Choice and C.J. Fuller also returned, giving them another crowded backfield to sort out.
Early on, Choice and Fuller earned carries based on their experience in the offense. Now, though, the running game has been handed off to Feaster and Etienne.
With the abilities to take the ball to the end zone on every carry, Feaster and Etienne have slowly started to form one of the more talented 1-2 punches in college football.
Feaster has 332 yards and two touchdowns this year, with Etienne topping him in both categories with 378 yards and five scores on just 46 carries. Don’t worry, I’ll do the math for you: that is 8.2 yards per carry for the ultra-talented freshman.
It’ll be interesting to see over these next few weeks of either Etienne or Feaster separate themselves from one another or if Clemson continues to utilize both of them. Feaster has also shown a knack for having good hands in the passing game, hauling in a 60-yard touchdown in the win over Virginia Tech.