Seven games into the season, and Clemson fans have seen very little of the backup running backs.

Senior Adam Randall has received not only almost all of the carries, but also an overwhelming majority of the snaps, leaving very little opportunity for Gideon Davidson and David Eziomume to get that ever valuable game experience.

With the team coming out of its second open date sitting at just 3-4, now seems like the time to reverse the trend seen rotation-wise at the position.

“Probably just didn’t do a good job of managing the reps,” head coach Swinney said on Tuesday. “Sometimes I think coaches get caught up in the moment. Just got to do a better job of really committing to… just the rotation at this point, because we feel like those guys can go play.”

Davidson and Eziomume have combined for just 25 carries this season. For comparison’s sake, backup quarterback Chris Vizzina carried the ball 15 times in his first career start against SMU.

Davidson has logged just 49 snaps total, with Eziomume playing only 43. Randall has been on the field for 373 snaps.

With Davidson being one of the best running backs in the last recruiting class, expectations were high for the freshman coming into the season. While individual position coaches are generally responsible for the rotations at their respective positions, offensive coordinator Garrett Riley insists that moving forward, getting the younger backs on the field more will be a point of emphasis.

“We just have to get those guys in,” Riley said. “They have to rotate, and for obvious reasons. I mean, we need other guys to play and produce for us, and it is also going to help Adam Randall. We’ve just got to get those guys in. That is certainly what we are going to do moving forward.”

While Randall is only averaging about 12 carries a game, he’s still been on the field a lot, and with this being his first season at running back, the goal has to be keeping him healthy and fresh as possible. The best way to do that is to divide up the workload and see what Davidson and/or Eziomume can do.

“History shows that position is going to take a toll. At any level of football,” Riley said. “We’ve got guys that can help us, and we just have to let them do it and let them play. Let them go through growing pains, or whatever it is, because ultimately, we are going to have to do that. It is going to help our team from a big picture standpoint.”

Photo by Bart Boatwright