Clemson running back Travis Etienne has come on strong of late in spring practice, according to co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott.

“The last two scrimmages, you’re starting to see that explosiveness that we have all come to love with Travis,” Elliott said Wednesday.

Etienne was the top rusher in Clemson’s 90-minute scrimmage last Wednesday with 81 yards and a touchdown.

The Jennings, La., product followed that up with another good performance in the Tigers’ situational scrimmage this Wednesday, during which he broke off a 43-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-3 situation.

“We were able to find some runs,” Elliott said. “Travis showed up, and he was very explosive. Things weren’t quite blocked as well as we would like them, but he just made guys miss and broke some tackles.”

As good as Etienne has been recently, Elliott is looking for more consistency from the rising sophomore.

“There were a couple of instances today where he did a couple things that were uncharacteristic and that I’ve got to get him away from doing,” Elliott said. “Just making sure that he’s locked in on every single play, knowing exactly what his assignment is and really just playing without the ball.

“But he popped a big run in a short-yardage situation for a touchdown today, just doing the things that Travis does with the ball. Now I have to get him to the point where he can be trusted and reliable without the ball in every situation.”

One point of emphasis for Etienne this spring and entering the 2018 season is improving in pass protection.

Elliott has seen Etienne start to buy into the pass blocking technique that has been taught to him, something that helps make up for his smaller size.

“With Travis, I’m really seeing a concerted effort to use the technique that we’re trying to use,” Elliott said. “Travis is a contact kid, he’s a physical kid, but he’s still 195 pounds. He has a tendency to drop his shoulder, and I think now he’s buying into the fact that if I use proper technique, then I can get my whole body involved as opposed to just my shoulder.”

Etienne was a third-team All-ACC selection as a true freshman last season after bursting onto the scene with a team-high 766 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

Elliott is excited to see how much better Etienne can become once he puts on more weight and gains strength in the weight room.

“If you watch Travis, a lot of tackles that he breaks is because of exploding and how fast he is,” Elliott said. “And when he’s able to put some more mass with it and he gets that mass moving fast, and confident in his upper-body strength to drop his shoulders on people… And then when he steps in there in pass protection, being able to use his hands, I think that’s just going to complete his game.

“I think we all know how special he is with the football. When he adds the strength component to it, it’s going to complete him and make him even more of a threat.”