By Bradley – Ellington Ready to Play.

With the clash of the Tigers in the Georgia Dome still days away, Clemson running back wishes it was game day in Atlanta already.

“I wish we were in Atlanta right now, to be honest with you. I am ready to play, I have been looking forward to this day for a while,” said Ellington.

This is the attitude that Tiger fans look to see from one of the ACC’s top running backs that chose to return to Clemson for his senior season in 2012. While the Tigers struggled their last time on the field, Ellington says that does not define this team, and this team has moved past the result of the Orange Bowl.

“Orange Bowl. I do not know about that game, we have put that in the past,” said Ellington.

While Ellington and the Tigers have moved on from that defeat, Ellington and this team have allowed their performance the last time on the gridiron to help motivate them throughout the off season.

“We want to go into this game not playing the way we did the last game. Hopefully that is motivation to some guys, it is motivation to me,” said Ellington.

Ellington looks to be a key factor is a favorable Tigers outcome on Saturday, using his shortcomings in the final game of 2011 to propel him to a great final season as a Tiger. Ellington hopes that his teammates use last season as a learning experience and that it launches them into a successful season in 2011, with a victory over Auburn. “Hopefully, we will pick it up and start off on a good foot this year.”

One key to a Clemson victory will be the execution of the Clemson offense versus the Auburn defense. An Auburn defense that has some question marks with the change in defensive coordinator over the off-season. According to Ellington this team is doing everything it can to prepare for a variety of looks.

“All we can do is see what they did last year, in the spring, and plays that the coach had in the NFL. Hopefully we can get into the game and make adjustments,” said Ellington.

The team that can make the correct adjustments will likely be the team that wins Saturday, and exiting Tuesday, Andre Ellington feels his Tigers are ready.