Clemson Tigers rich at running back

Not without his fair share of skill position players, head coach Dabo Swinney has been been able to replace the speedsters and athletes who have spent three to four years at Clemson thriving in a Chad Morris-led offense.

“I also say, you can replace good players,” Swinney said. “Sammy Watkins leaves and Artavis (Scott) shows up. Tajh (Boyd) leaves and Deshaun (Watson) shows up. What separates the consistency of programs is not just the talent but the type of people you bring in.”

Now with Morris gone to take over as the head coach of Southern Methodist, many of the established offensive weapons remain except for one – the running backs.

One of the men replacing Morris is co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott, who knows a thing or two about getting the best out of his ball carriers. Elliott, a former Clemson wide receiver from 2000 to 2003, has had an All-ACC running back each of his years as RBs coach since he started at Clemson in 2011 except 2014.

While sophomore running back Wayne Gallman heads the stable of runners, Elliott knows that he has six talented running backs going into fall camp.

“It’s a good situation to be in,” Elliott said. “We have a lot of depth already and we also have (Adam) Choice coming back from injury.”

On the most recent depth chart, Gallman is No. 1 with redshirt senior C.J. Davidson behind him and Zac Brooks or Tyshon Dye occupying the third spot.

Brooks, a redshirt junior, was one of the more promising runners heading into last season but suffered a foot injury and was forced to sit out the year. Now, Elliott says, he’s close to being back in the conversation for starter.

“I thought Zac made some strides in spring practice,” Elliott said. “Right now all those guys going into camp are competing, but after spring I thought Zac was nipping at his (Gallman) heels.”

Right now though, Elliott says that it’s up to Gallman to maintain his lead and as long as he reaches his “ceiling,” he’ll continue to be the lead runner.

“We have six different guys that each bring in something different … right now all those guys want to be ‘that’ guy and they know what it takes.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Clemson Tigers rich at running back."