Tavien Feaster: Clemson’s depth at RB is a plus for the Tigers

Tavien Feaster had the best game of his career this past Saturday against Louisville, but he doesn’t want all of the credit for the 92-yard performance.

Feaster believes a big reason he was able to have success is because he wasn’t tired from trying to carry the load by himself.

Clemson’s running backs received 30 carries against the Cardinals with Feaster and starter C.J. Fuller each getting 10. Adam Choice had four carries, while freshman Travis Etienne got six.

Splitting carries allows the Tiger backs to stay fresh, Feaster said.

“It’s very fun. When we run the ball, it’s going to be a great day,” he said. “I think every guy in the room can run the ball, so we just wear down the defense and then another guy rolls into the game and scores a touchdown. It’s great.”

The Tigers rushed for 297 yards against Louisville, including 144 in the fourth quarter.

Etienne had 98 of Clemson’s rushing yards in the final period.

“You saw what could happen when you have fresh legs in a game,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “We wore them down. You’ve got hungry guys that are competing. They all want to be the guy. You better make your chances count. I love the desperation I saw running (Saturday).”

MENTALLY READY

Swinney said his team has to be mentally tough if it is going to beat Boston College.

The Eagles (1-2) have been strong on defense and struggled on offense under coach Steve Addazio, although this year’s team has struggled on both sides of the ball.

“This is a very tough, physical, hard-nosed team. There’s a different mindset that you have to bring when you get ready to play Boston College,” Swinney said. “I think that speaks to their head coach, Coach (Steve) Addazio. Their mindset is you’re going to have to beat them. They don’t usually ever beat themselves … If you don’t have the right mindset going into it, they’re going to expose you.”

HURRY-UP ATTACK

Boston College has switched to a hurry-up offense for 2017 but is still not producing many points.

The Eagles are averaging 17.7 points per game through three weeks and will now face one of the best defenses in the country .

If BC continues to use a hurry-up offense, it could be disastrous against a team with a stout defense and an explosive offense.

“They’re playing really, really fast. A lot of tempo,” Swinney said. “Their explosives come off the run game. They want to be able to establish a physical presence in the run game.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Tavien Feaster: Clemson’s depth at RB is a plus for the Tigers."