Clemson's Travis Etienne Rightfully Named Nation's Preseason No. 1 RB
By Charles Nason
With the start of the 2019-2020 college football season just a couple of months away, preseason position rankings are beginning to emerge. Topping most of those lists is Clemson's junior running back Travis Etienne.
On a majority of preseason running back rankings, Etienne is listed as the No. 1 back in the nation. He's coming off an incredible sophomore year in which he averaged 8.1 yards per carry and helped lead his team to a national championship.
Travis Etienne gained 59.4% of his yards last season on breakaway runs (15+ yards). He showed an uncanny ability to kick it into another gear at the second level. pic.twitter.com/tfLCFrNkzv
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 16, 2019
Etienne's sophomore year was something special for the Louisiana native. He racked up 1,658 yards to go along with 24 rushing and 2 receiving touchdowns.
In his last appearance, the national title game against Alabama, Etienne added another two rushing touchdowns to cap off his incredible year. He was also named ACC Player of the Year, beating out a number of his own Clemson teammates including Trevor Lawrence and Clelin Ferrell.
The reigning @ACCFootball Player of the Year sure looked the part against Syracuse last season! Travis Etienne WENT OFF, going for 203 yards and 3⃣ TDs! #ALLIN (@ClemsonFB, @swaggy_t1) pic.twitter.com/ELVIYzA79H
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) June 7, 2019
Clemson is looking to retain its title as national champions in the 2019-2020 season. With Etienne ranked as one of, if not the, nation's top running back, we could very well see a Heisman campaign from him in his junior year.