Clemson shows off depth at running back in win over Kent State

Clemson will use a four-headed monster at running back this season as it tries to replace Wayne Gallman. All four had success Saturday against Kent State.

The Tigers rushed for 353 yards and six touchdowns in the 56-3 win against the Golden Flashes with freshman Travis Etienne leading the way with 81 yards.

C.J. Fuller, the starter, had 51 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tavien Feaster had 69 yards on the ground, including a 47-yard score, while Adam Choice had four carries for 20 yards and a touchdown.

“It was good to see all those guys get in. They all made big plays,” co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott said. “They all found the end zone. So that’s good for us because now we have some legitimate competition. Those guys are going to have to understand that it’s going to be won in practice every week as far as who gets the carries.”

Etienne was the surprise of preseason camp with his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands, and that carried over to game day. He got off to a slow start on his first few carries but quickly settled in.

“With the ball, he’s very, very special,” Elliott said. “Those first couple of carries I had to get him on the phone and say, ‘Travis, just calm down.’ He said, ‘Yeah, coach, I had to get the jitters out.’ Once he calmed down, you could see that he attacks the line of scrimmage. … He hits it with a lot of authority.”

SPREADING IT AROUND

Clemson had 15 receivers catch a pass as quarterback Kelly Bryant and the Tigers quarterbacks spread the ball around.

Ray-Ray McCloud and freshman Amari Rodgers caught three passes to lead the Tigers in receptions.

Deon Cain and tight end Milan Richard led Clemson in receiving yards with 70. Cain recorded 61 of his yards on a touchdown pass on the Tigers’ second drive.

“It was great. From the first team to the second team, everyone was playing fast, and at the end of the day, I was proud of everyone,” Cain said. “Our offense is just very misunderstood, and we just wanted to come out and prove a lot of people wrong, and we did.”

DEFENSE DOMINANT

Clemson held Kent State to 120 total yards, including 1 passing yard. The Golden Flashes averaged 2.7 yards per rush and were 1-for-5 passing.

Kent State didn’t attempt a pass in the first half and didn’t top 100 total yards until the fourth quarter.

“I loved watching the energy our guys played with. I just thought they were relentless and played to a standard today,” Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “There were a lot of guys that played, and there was no real noticeable letup. That was fun to watch.”

Venables added that it was different facing an offense that didn’t attempt a pass in the first half.

“Very surprising. That wasn’t what we prepared for,” he said. “They must have not watched the Georgia Tech film. … That was very tough to get a beat on.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2017 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Clemson shows off depth at running back in win over Kent State."