When discussing Clemson’s running back room during his press conference at the Tigers’ Media Outing on Tuesday, head coach Dabo Swinney likened one young back to a former Clemson star.

Swinney compared redshirt freshman David Eziomume to Wayne Gallman, who left Clemson after three seasons as one of the school’s most decorated and productive running backs in school history.

“He was a highly recruited guy, high-ranked guy,” Swinney said of Eziomume. “I think Wayne Gallman when I talk about [Eziomume].”

A product of North Cobb High School in Georgia, Eziomume was rated as a four-star and top-250 national recruit in the 2024 class by Rivals, which considered him the seventh-best all-purpose back in the country.

Before his senior season in 2023 was cut short by injury, Eziomume led the state of Georgia in rushing through six games with 1,155 yards, including consecutive games of 205, 268 and 326 rushing yards early in the season.

Eziomume finished his senior year with 14 touchdowns and a 7.7-yard-per-carry average in six games, earning all-district honors despite the limited action, and he was a second-team all-region honoree as a junior when he had 700 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving and scored 20 touchdowns. He added 250 yards receiving out of the backfield as a senior.

Eziomume enrolled at Clemson in January 2024, and last season, he rushed 10 times for 62 yards in 36 offensive snaps over five games while redshirting.

As Swinney sees it, the 6-foot, 215-pound Eziomume has a similar running style to Gallman, a two-time All-ACC selection who amassed 3,429 rushing yards on 676 carries, with 34 touchdowns over 42 games during his career as a Tiger from 2014-16, following a redshirt year in 2013.

“He might be a little faster than Gallman, maybe a little bigger, but violent like Wayne Gallman,” Swinney said of Eziomume. “Violent runner. Powerful runner.”