No. 1 Clemson Reminds Rest of College Football It Has an All-World Tailback To

CLEMSON, S.C. – There he went, moving through the sea of orange, a police officer pushing him toward the Clemson locker room as he fended off mobbing fans. Here he is a celebrity. He politely avoids autograph-seekers and doesn’t slow for selfies, cutting a path through field-storming Tigers fans. He’s moving among the crowd at a rapid pace, weaving and bobbing, a security officer behind him with a hand each on his shoulder. You can never be too careful. His health is the utmost of importance. After all, this is the star of Clemson’s football team, a Heisman Trophy candidate, maybe a favorite after this night.

He is Travis Etienne.

Oh, you thought we were referring to the tall drink of sunshine, this squad’s hotshot quarterback, Trevor Lawrence? No, he was already in the locker room, having been whisked through the crowd by four—four—police officers. How fitting. There is another Heisman contender on this team, even if everyone’s forgotten about him, even if he has too few bodyguards. He reminded us all Thursday night in the top-ranked Tigers’ 52-14 dismantling of Georgia Tech. Etienne stole this show, an explosive debut in a game that served as the ACC Network’s kickoff. The junior set career-highs for longest run (90 yards) and yards rushing (205). He scored three touchdowns, averaged more than 17 yards a carry and accomplished a first in Clemson history: no player has run for more than 200 yards on so few carries (12). He did this all in 2.5