Tony Elliott believes Travis Etienne has a chance to be one of the best players to ever play at Clemson.

“There is no question he has the talent,” Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach said. “I think, the way he runs the football … but he has to become a complete player.”

Last year, Etienne set the single-season school rushing record with 1,658 yards, while also demolishing the program’s single-season record for touchdowns (24) and total touchdowns (26). His total touchdowns tied an ACC record.

He averaged 110.5 yards per game, the second-best figure in school history for a single season. His 8.1 yards per carry average is the most any running back with at least 70 carries in a season. Obliterating Billy Hair’s 1950 record of 7.4 yards per carry.

“Really, the biggest thing for Travis is to embrace and except his leadership role,” Elliott said. “He is such a low maintenance guy. He is a low-key guy. Y’all know he does not like the limelight. He does not like the attention and sometimes that causes him to shy away from his leadership opportunities.”

Elliott tells Etienne every day this is the gift and the curse of being one of the best football players in the country. The media wants to talk to him. The fans want to know his story and the younger players on the team look up to him.

“You prayed for this. You asked for this. You asked for the success that you are having. Now you have to take the unintended consequences that come with it,” Elliott said. “Now, your teammates are looking to you as a leader. They want to hear your voice. They know you are going to make a play, but they want to hear your encouragement. They want to hear your voice.

“I think when his mind transitions to when he really embraces his role as a leader, then I think his game is going to go to an even bigger level. He is going to be more consistent. He is going to play with maximum effort. Not that he does not play hard, but he is going to give it a hundred and ten percent, whereas right now he is ‘okay, I’ll give it a hundred percent.’ But ‘I want you to give hundred and ten percent because you have the talent and the ability that if you can do that, you can do something that is special.’”

As Etienne enters the 2019 season, all of the career rushing marks are in his sight, including the granddaddy of them all – the career rushing record.

Raymond Priester’s career rushing mark of 3,966 yards, which was set from 1994-’97, is in range. Etienne needs 1,543 yards to become Clemson’s all-time leader, a mark he could pass if he averages the same number of rushing yards per game that he did last season.

Etienne’s 37 career rushing touchdowns already rank third in Clemson history and he needs 11 to break James Davis career record, which was set from 2005-’08. He ranks fourth all time in total touchdowns with 39, and he needs 13 in total to break C.J. Spiller’s record of 51, which was set from 2006-’09.

All three of those major records are held by running backs that played four years at Clemson. Etienne has a shot to break all three of them as a junior, as well as average yards per carry in a career, which he currently owns at 7.8 yards per carry. A minimum of 1,000 yards.

“There are only a few guys in the course of a career that you coach that have that kind of talent,” Elliott said. “If they just go right above a hundred percent and try to push for hundred and ten, then they came be exceptional.”