TNT is Clemson's Dynamite
After Clemson’s 34-7 victory over Boston College, freshman running back Travis Etienne was the final player to speak to the media.
Etienne walked in and every media member in the room ran over to him, cameras ready and tape recorders rolling.
The freshman seemed nervous, but stood there and smiled wide showing off his braces on the top row of his teeth.
Etienne had just come off another impressive, to say the least, performance against a Boston College defense that had built its hard-nosed identity in stopping the run in recent years. He had nine carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
“My mindset going into the game is to get the ball and score,” Etienne said.
When a spark was needed, the fourth-string running back was there.
Clemson’s sputtering offense was up against tough field position all day, blocking was less than ideal and drives continued to stall in frustrating fashion. Rarely does a fourth-string running back get the call on a fourth-and-one play, but that’s what happened early in the second half to give Etienne, and the offense, some confidence.
“That’s what I came here for,” Etienne said. “Since day one, I felt like coach (Dabo) Swinney and coach (Tony) Elliott trusted in me to come in and make big plays. Them trusting in me just boosts my confidence just knowing that they got my back.”
On the opposite side of the media room stood Tavien Feaster who got the start and a bulk of the carries in Clemson’s victory.
Feaster showed a little bit of a different demeanor. The sophomore looked straight-faced, calm and cool after his 20 carries and 73 “dirty” yards on the ground.
His eyes were low and he wasn’t smiling, but when Etienne’s name was mentioned his ears perked up and a big grin ran across his face.
“Woo-wee,” Feaster said.
“That’s a guy when he gets the ball in his hand, it’s amazing,” Feaster continued. “He’s a very special talent, man. That kid is going to be great.”
Late in the fourth quarter when the Tigers were on top 14-7 and driving, Clemson faced a third-and-two to keep the drive alive. With 6:00 left in the game, Feaster gained the first down and came up limping.
Etienne then entered the game and took the next run 50 yards for a touchdown on the next play to put the game away. Etienne broke two tackles against the worn down defense and accelerated in the open field just as he did the week before against Louisville.
His second touchdown came in the final minute when Etienne got the ball four straight plays and the freshman would not be denied, as each run was another blow to the Eagle defense.
Feaster’s 20 carries wore down the defense and Etienne’s fresh legs delivered the knockout blows.
Feaster said that the young Etienne pushes him to be better, especially when he sees him take it the distance.
When asked if there was a better one-two punch in the country, Feaster shrugged his shoulders and sheepishly grinned even bigger:
“I don’t know. We just got to see. We got to keep rolling in with what the coaches want to do and how they want to play it.”
Etienne humbly credits his long runs to his teammates for wearing down the defense all game long:
“We knew it was going to be a game between the trenches and they just pounded and pounded and pounded them and got the defense tired,” Etienne said. “With them wearing them down, I get to go in there kind of fresh and they open up things for me.”
The true freshman now has 23 carries for 292 yards on the season and he didn’t get a carry in the Auburn game. That’s 12.7 yards per carry in just three games of action.
Woo-wee.
Coach Swinney always says that players need to make the most of their opportunities. So does he think he has proven himself so far this season? Etienne’s answer may surprise you:
“No sir, not yet. There’s a lot of plays where I could have gotten the extra yard or could have did something more. Just me getting to practice every week and getting better and just working on the little things.
“I’m not where I want to be yet, but I am getting there.”
Finally, Etienne was asked if he had a nickname he preferred. He laughed and said “no sir” and then the name "TNT" was suggested to him.
TNT: Travis and Tavien.
Walking out of the room, Feaster overheard this and stopped, poked his head back in and said, “Hey…” and gave a thumbs up.
Etienne and the rest of the media laughed. “That’s pretty cool,” Etienne said.
There you have it. TNT: Clemson’s exciting new running back dynamic duo after the days of CJ Spiller and James Davis.
"TNT" brings another spark to this Clemson offense that has the opportunity to explode at any moment for a big play.
Dynamite will be needed this week as the Tigers face another prime time road test against a great Virginia Tech defense.