At this point in spring practice, Tavien Feaster is slightly ahead of Travis Etienne and Adam Choice in the competition for Clemson’s first-string running back job, according to co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott.

“I’d say he might have a slight lead, but I think that the guys are closing the gap,” Elliott said Wednesday following the Tigers’ first full scrimmage of the spring.

Feaster, a rising junior, has been working to slim down and get in optimal shape physically. In turn, that is allowing him to run with more burst on the field.

“Obviously Tavien is naturally going to be a big guy,” Elliott said of Feaster, who is listed at 220 pounds. “But what we really wanted to focus on is his body composition and making sure that if he’s 220, 225 pounds, that it’s the right makeup of his body, that he’s got it where it needs to be.

“I think that he’s taken some ownership. I’m starting to see him really engage with the nutrition staff, with the chef to make sure he’s eating the right things, and you are starting to see that his wind his better. He’s being a little bit more explosive as well.”

In 2017, Feaster rushed for 669 yards and seven touchdowns on 107 carries (6.3 yards per attempt).

Elliott said Feaster’s physical composition wasn’t a problem last year, but Clemson’s coaches noticed he was carrying excess weight entering mat drills, which began on Feb. 14.

“I don’t know if it was last year as much as when we got back and just looking at him as we went into mat drills,” Elliott said. “You could see that he was carrying a little bit of body fat that he probably didn’t need to carry. And part of that is you’re done playing. The season’s over, and now you have a little bit of down time, you’re not quite as active going into winter conditioning and then also in mat drills.

“So it was really we made a decision once we got back in February and got with him on the field in MAT drills and saw that we could take an opportunity to try and streamline his body a little bit more.”

“I don’t want him to be skinny,” Elliott added. “I don’t want him to lose too much weight, but what I want him to do is try to find that optimal balance.”

As for Etienne, his primary focus coming into spring practice was improving in pass protection.

Clemson’s scrimmage Wednesday was a learning lession for Etienne in that regard.

“Travis is going to learn from today’s practice,” Elliott said. “He had an opportunity where he missed a couple. We had some complicated stuff that Brent (Venables) was doing that we prepared for. But you’ve got to be fully locked in, you’ve got to be in-tune, you’ve got to see the big picture, and there were a couple of times where he got caught not quite having that attention to detail.

“The thing I like about it, though, is he was hard on himself. That proves to me that he is serious about improving there. And we’re just going to get on the film tomorrow, we’re going to learn from it, we’re going to flush it and we’re going to come back and try to improve in the next scrimmage.”

While Feaster is ahead of the other backs right now, Elliott said he isn’t far out in front.

“Travis is improving,” Elliott said. “I think Choice has had his best spring since he’s been here. His confidence is at a high level, kind of like how he finished the season. I thought Choice finished with the right mental disposition. I think he’s carried it into the spring.

“So I’d say yes, Tavien would probably be the first one to run out there, but it’s not quite as big of a gap as it might’ve been.”