Tiger Tracker: Where Clemson Stands With Top 2022 RB Targets
Clemson heads into the 2021 season with a fairly deep stable of running backs and will likely add one more in the 2022 recruiting class.
The Tigers signed two elite-level backs last cycle in Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, and despite losing Chez Mellusi to the transfer portal after the spring, will likely sign just one back this cycle.
The top two targets at the position appear to be Branson Robinson and Trevor Etienne, both of who will be on hand for the Elite Retreat scheduled for June 12-13.
Robinson, who is widely considered one of the top-five running backs in the country, is thought to be a slight lean to Georgia at the moment. The 5-foot-10, 220 pound back from Germantown, Mississippi has offers from all of the SEC heavyweights as well as Florida State, Michigan and Penn State.
Clemson offered the 4-star back in late March after Robinson rushed for 1,179 yards and averaged close to 10 YPC during his junior season. There's a long way to go with this recruitment, and at the moment the Tigers are in it, but there is a little ground that has to be made up.
Etienne's recruitment is still wide open. Many have considered LSU the favorite to land the younger brother of Clemson's all-time leading rusher Travis, but Ed Orgeron's Tigers currently have at least two backs higher than Etienne on their board.
Alabama could be in the mix for 4-star back too. Although, the Crimson Tide have already gotten a commitment from five-star Emmanuel Henderson, arguably the top running back in the country, and one has to wonder how that might impact things for Nick Saban's team. Dan Mullen's Florida Gators could also be in play for the 5-foot-10, 200 pound back from Louisiana.
As for Clemson, how much interest the younger Etienne might have in the Tigers could depend on whether or not he wants to play in the awfully large shadow the legacy of his older brother currently casts on the Tigers' program. Not to mention the two highly touted backs that were signed in 2021.
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