Elliott not Only Former Tiger Returning to Clemson

CLEMSON — When Virginia rolls into Clemson this Saturday to take on the 10 ^th -ranked Tigers, head coach Tony Elliott will not be the only former Clemson Tiger with the Cavaliers.

Elliott played at Clemson from 1999-2003 and later coached the Tigers from 2011-’21. He played for then wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney during his senior year. Elliott returned to Clemson in 2011 and served as Swinney’s running backs and tight ends coach, as well as his offensive coordinator for six seasons.

But he is not alone.

Kobe Pace, who played at Clemson from 2020-’22, makes his return to Memorial Stadium, as well.

“I love Kobe. He is one of my favorite dudes. He is such a great spirit, great kid, tough, competitive, loves to play. I mean, he loves to play the game,” Swinney said.

Pace comes in as the Cavaliers’ starting running back. Now in his second year in Charlottesville, Va., he has 331 yards and 2 TDs, while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He shares the backfield with speedster Xavier Brown (334 yards), giving Virginia a nice one-two-punch.

“I am proud of him. I am happy that he is with good people, and I thought he did some good things last year,” Swinney said. “But he has really settled in (this season) and given them a really strong presence in the run game.

“He has good knowledge. He really understands the details of what they are doing. Fundamentally, you can tell that he is really growing and maturing. He is just playing with a ton of confidence.”

Pace transferred to Virginia in 2023 so he could play for his old position coach and the guy who recruited him to Clemson in the first place.

At Clemson, Pace was very productive. He tallied 792 rushing yards in his three seasons there, including 641 yards and six TDs during his sophomore season in 2021.

Pace averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his Clemson career.

In 2023, Pace ran for 382 yards and one touchdown for the Cavaliers.

“It is good to see him having success. I pull for him every week, except this week,” Swinney said. “We got to make sure we wrap up and tackle because he is a strong physical back that will run behind his pads.

“I look forward to seeing him, but hopefully, he does not have to good of a game against the Tigers. That is my hope. Then just run all over everybody else. I wish him nothing but the best.”