With Travis Etienne sidelined after getting banged up in a recent practice, Clemson running back Lyn-J Dixon shined during the Tigers’ first scrimmage of fall camp this past Saturday at Death Valley.

Dixon, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior, had a “really, really good day” according to Dabo Swinney.

“Really proud of him,” Clemson’s head coach said.

Dixon, who decided to return to Clemson for this season despite Etienne’s decision to come back for his senior year, looks like a different player in the eyes of offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott.

Prior to Etienne’s announcement in January that he would forgo the 2020 NFL Draft and play his final year of eligibility, Dixon had been expected to assume the role of Clemson’s starting running back.

“Lyn-J is a lot more confident and he’s playing fast,” Elliott said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “He just looks composed in pass protection. He can communicate now with me in my language in pass protection. He can communicate with the quarterbacks. He can anticipate where pressures are.”

Elliott said it “looks like the game is really slowing down” for Dixon, who recorded 104 carries for 635 yards and six rushing touchdowns across 15 games last season to go with 14 receptions for 121 yards.

Dixon, a product of Taylor County High School in Butler, Ga., enters 2020 with 1,182 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 166 career attempts and currently ranks second in school history in yards per carry (7.12) behind only Etienne.

“He’s starting to understand and really internalize what his running style is,” Elliott said. “I’m seeing him start to drop his pads a little bit more, be a little bit more patient, not always try to hit the home run – but because of that, because of that level swing, I like to stay with him sometimes. As a baseball analogy, he is hitting some home runs.”

Dixon is playing like the experienced vet he is in his third year at Clemson, and that is a good thing for the Tigers’ running back room.

“Really, he just looks like a veteran and is needed,” Elliott said, “especially with the young guys that we’ve got, the talented guys in the room.”

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