Swinney, Clemson Tigers Announce Starting Running Back vs. LSU

On Thursday, Clemson Tigers’ head coach Dabo Swinney announced that senior running back Adam Randall will be the starting running back in the Tigers’ home opener against LSU, announcing it on The ROAR radio station.

Randall won the job over redshirt freshman David Eziomume, true freshman Gideon Davidson, and Keith Adams Jr., but Swinney believes that many tailbacks will be used throughout the fall.

"We've got four guys and we'll go to battle with them, but it starts with Adam,” Swinney said on the station. “He's the starter. He's earned that."

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Randall received most of the first-team reps throughout fall camp, while all running backs were able to make strides over the last several weeks. A former wide receiver for the Tigers, the senior will now showcase his talent carrying the ball, where he had success in a small sample size.

Swinney hinted that Randall would end up being the starter, speaking on the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast after a week into fall camp.

“This guy, he knows everything,” Swinney said on the podcast. “He understands everything, so mentally, he’s running out there first.”

The decision came from a multitude of things. A “light bulb” went off in Swinney’s mind when he saw Randall’s kickoff return in the ACC Championship, which was a 41-yard return that would set Clemson up for a later game-winning field goal.

Saying that “he was a problem to tackle” and had a knack for carrying the football, Swinney tried the experiment in Clemson's College Football Playoff game, and it worked out. Randall burst away for a 41-yard rush in the contest, and the team bought into its new running back.

In that same championship game, the Tigers also lost second-string back Jay Haynes to an ACL tear. He won’t be able to be healthy for the season opener, but he will take snaps in the backfield when he returns.

While Randall looks to create a new story for himself at the position, Swinney says not to sleep on the other running backs in the room, as competition will remain for the rest of the season.

“I don’t see any situation where we are going to have one guy playing,” Swinney said. “We are going to have a really good backfield of guys and three or four guys getting some reps every single week.

They’re all different, but Adam brings the leadership and the confidence. The game’s not too fast for him, he really checks all the boxes, so that’s been a good thing, especially for those other guys.”

For Randall, he’s looking to see the field at any capacity, saying “sign me up” to any opportunity to play for a national championship contender.

“We got a chance to win a national championship, shoot, sign me up,” Randall said. “It’s just another year, as long as I’m out there making plays, sign me up.”