Clemson football running back Travis Etienne is on pace to set some historical marks in just three years with the Tiger program.
Travis Etienne has a chance to set some historical marks within the Clemson football program before it’s all said and done.
Etienne exploded on to the scene as a freshman and progressively got more playing time as the season went on before ultimately becoming the starter.
Following the 2017 season, Etienne earned the starting role as a sophomore and kept that role in 2018. He finished his sophomore season with 1,658 yards rushing on 204 attempts and 24 rushing touchdowns.
He had a stint where he was a top-three Heisman contender and finished seventh in the Heisman voting.
With his combined numbers through the first two years of his career, Etienne is up to 2,424 career yards, 37 rushing touchdowns and has a career yards per carry average of 7.7.
Etienne already set the school record for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in a single season this year. Now, he’ll set his sights on breaking the career numbers.
Currently, Raymond Priester is the all-time rushing leader in Clemson football history. Priester rushed for a total of 3,966 yards in four years with the Tigers. James Davis lead Clemson in all-time rushing touchdowns with 47 in his career.
Etienne has a chance to break both of those records in just three years as a Clemson Tigers.
To leave Clemson as the all-time leading rusher, Etienne will need 1,543 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. I’d be shocked if he didn’t reach those numbers in 2019.
I know he’ll continue to work as a running back by committee, sharing time with Lyn-J Dixon and Tavien Feaster, but I don’t see anyway that Etienne doesn’t finish his junior season with more tha 1,543 yards and 11 touchdowns.
If he was to decide to come back for his senior season, Etienne could potentially break the ACC career record (4,602 yards) and make strides toward being one of the top rushers in the history of College Football.
Right now, though, I’d think Etienne leaves Clemson after his junior season as the top rusher in school history and gets drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.