Clemson Football: Comparing 2020 RB room to last three seasons
Comparing Clemson football RB room to previous seasons
The Clemson football program has continued to see an uphill climb in talent on the recruiting trail and one of the positions the Tigers have recruited best is running back.
The Tigers have continued to build depth at the running back position and now enter 2020 with one of the deepest groups in school history.
As we prepare for the 2020 season, Rubbing the Rock will give you a comparison of every positional unit compared to its previous counterparts in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Let’s continue the series with a look at the running backs year-by-year.
Year-by-year comparison of the Clemson football RB rooms
2017 RB Room
The 2017 running back room featured a plethora of veterans alongside one talented- but unheralded- freshman in Travis Etienne. C.J. Fuller, Tavien Feaster and Adam Choice were entrenched in a three-headed battle for the starting position coming into the year. Darien Rencher was also on the roster.
All three veterans split time with Feaster being named the starter, but it wasn’t long before Etienne was getting quite a few carries. Etienne finished the year with 107 carries for 766 yards. Feaster also had 107 carries (669 yards) while Choice and Fuller each saw less than 65 carries apiece.
2018 RB Room
The 2018 running back room showed an increase in talent and experience from the year prior.
The Tigers returned Etienne, Feaster and Choice, who served as the leading veterans, and they also brought in freshman Lyn-J Dixon to the mix. The pecking order was more defined in 2018 with Etienne as the No. 1 option, Feaster as No. 2 and Choice as No. 3, but all three running backs provided valuable depth and made plays to help the offense.
2019 RB Room
Travis Etienne, Lyn-J Dixon and Darien Rencher were all returners in the 2019 running back room and the Tigers added two talented freshmen- Chez Mellusi and Michel Dukes– to the mix.
While Etienne received the bulk of the carries, bothe Dixon and Rencher saw playing time and the two freshmen were given carries later in games to gain experience. The Tigers relied heavily upon Etienne and Dixon’s play-making ability and it was clear that they were the 1-2 punch.
2020 RB Room
The 2020 Clemson football RB room is easily the deepest and most talented group we have seen in the most recent years.
The Tigers return Travis Etienne as potentially the top running back in the country. Lyn-J Dixon is back as a junior. Darien Rencher returns. Chez Mellusi and Michel Dukes- who both showed great promise during their freshman campaigns- are back and better than ever.
Oh, and then there’s 5-star RB Demarkcus Bowman and 4-star RB Kobe Pryor who will be added to the mix. This running back room is easily six-deep and there is going to be plenty of play-making to go around with this group.
Ranking the Clemson football RB rooms
- 2020 RB Room
- 2018 RB Room
- 2019 RB Room
- 2017 RB Room
Overall, the 2020 group has to be the best because of the amount of depth. We’ve got the 2018 group ahead of the 2019 group slightly just because of the depth and veteran experience that the group brought to the table. Also, the 2018 team won the National Championship which factors into slightly.
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In the end, you can see that the talent and depth at the position is steadily increasing and that’s a testament to the job the Clemson football coaching staff is doing at recruiting and developing skill.