Clemson has another Angry Runner

CLEMSON — Running the ball has been a non-issue for the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers this season.

In all facets, the rushing attack has been better, putting up more substantial numbers than last year, including very diverse funding of yards and contributions.

Players like quarterback Cade Klubnik, running back Phil Mafah, and backup running back Jay Haynes have all been the backbones of the running game. The Tigers, who host Virginia on Saturday (noon, ACCN), are averaging 200.8 yards per game so far this season, good enough to rank third in the ACC.

One player who has made a splash for the Clemson Football program is sophomore running back Keith Adams Jr., who has earned himself an official nickname by his squad.

“One of the practices last year during the fall, I guess I was just running through people, so Coach [Garrett] Riley just called me ‘Hammerhead’ and I stuck with it,” he said.

Hammerhead has been a Tiger since the 2022 season, playing in nine games across the last two seasons. This year, however, he has touched the ball in every game, earning the most yards he has gained in a season yet.

“Whenever my name is called, I’m always ready,” Adams said. “That’s what Coach [C.J.] Spiller always tells us, just always be ready, because you’re one ankle away from having to play like one snap to maybe 20 or 30 snaps.”

Adams has been called on much more this season, and he has done well with those opportunities, averaging nearly four yards per carry and making use of nearly every chance he has to touch the ball. And when he runs, he runs angry.

Adams style of play is something he gets from his father, former Clemson standout Keith Adams, Sr., who was the Tigers’ leading tackler and sack master from 1997-2000. Adams Sr., a linebacker in his playing days, was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and was a two-time All-American in 1999 and 2000, including Consensus All-American honors in 2000.

“My dad always told me to just run angry,” Adams Jr. said. “I’m not really an angry person, but I do run angry…I just tell myself, ‘don’t let one person tackle you,’ and that’s how I go about running.”

Clemson has had a great tradition of  angry runners, from now NFL rusher Will Shipley to the current starter, Phil Mafah and all the way back to guys like Cliff Austin, Kevin Mack, Chuck McSwain, Tracy Johnson and Raymond Priester. Adams is certainly a part of the powerful running lineage that Clemson has had for decades.