Clemson football freshman RB Michel Dukes is turning heads with his athleticism. He could be an explosive option for the Tigers.
Freshman RB Michel Dukes is turning heads with athleticism and pure running ability during the summer for Clemson football.
Dukes, a 3-star RB from Charleston, SC, enrolled during the second session of summer classes and began working out with the team. From several accounts, Dukes has been impressive in some of the conditioning and running drills the Tigers perform during those summer workouts.
Clemson football will begin fall camp in just a couple of weeks and he’ll be able to put those raw abilities to the test.
With the transfer of Tavien Feaster, the Tigers had just three running backs on scholarship- Travis Etienne, Lyn-J Dixon and Darien Rencher- before Dukes and fellow freshman Chez Mellusi (4-star) arrived this summer.
The Tigers will rely heavily upon Etienne and Dixon as a 1-2 punch out of the backfield, but also will need a third and fourth man to be ready for playing time. For the past few seasons, Clemson has used three running backs in its system.
This season, it seems that the Tigers will go heavily with Etienne and Dixon with a few carries sporadically for a couple of other backs. As a veteran, Rencher will get the first shot, but both Dukes and Mellusi will have their opportunities as well.
Clemson has always had four scholarship running backs, at the very least, on its active roster. It’s very likely that both Dukes and Mellusi get game experience with one emerging as the fourth man later in the season and the other redshirting.
Though most believe that will be Mellusi, it’s certainly possible that Dukes’ explosiveness and pure running ability could end up giving him a step in the competition.