Swinney on ‘Thunder and Lightning’ reunited on the Clemson coaching staff

An all-time Clemson duo is reunited on the Tigers’ coaching staff.

The Clemson football program has one of the best duos in college football history back together and on their coaching staff. 

Tigers’ running back coach C.J. Spiller has a familiar face joining him; that face is the other half of the legendary running back duo “Thunder and Lightning.” That’s right, former Clemson running back James Davis is back with the program. 

Clemson currently has a dynamic duo of their own in star running back Will Shipley and power back Phil Mafah, and the two current running backs have one of the running back duos in college football history in their corner. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is thrilled to have Davis back with the program.

“I went and got a guy named James Davis to come back, so it’s a pretty good running back meeting room, for sure,” Swinney said  Tuesday’s media outing. “You got two guys, whose pictures are on the wall, leading the room. That’s pretty cool. It’s a lot of fun.”

Sporting a big smile, Swinney knows how big of a move this is for the Tigers. Fun and cool is the perfect way to describe things. Davis is a Clemson great who, from 2005-’08, ran for 3,881 yards and scored a then-Clemson-record 47 rushing touchdowns. He is one of the best running backs the Tigers have ever had and has a lot to give to the program.

“I am happy about James coming back,” Swinney said. “He’s coming back to finish school, and something I think he’s been wanting to do for a while and it’s just kind of the right time for him and where he is in life to kind of fulfill that and check that box. So, I’m really happy for him to come back and be able to experience what he was a part of building here.”

Clemson fans should be thrilled to get one of the most exciting Tigers back with the program.

The last 12 Clemson 1,000-yard seasons

Since 2000, Clemson has had 12 1,000-yard rushing seasons, two of which came from the ACC’s all-time leading rusher.

Fans often throw Clemson into conversations for the nickname “WRU” because of the program’s history of producing great wide receivers, but people shouldn’t discredit the Tigers’ ability to pump out game-changing running backs.

Since 2000, Clemson has had 12 1,000-yard seasons from eight different rushers, four of which did it two times a piece.

Among them is the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, Travis Etienne, who rushed for just under 5,000 yards in his four seasons at Clemson.

As for Etienne’s replacement, Will Shipley is likely the next player to surpass the three-digit mark, as he rushed for 739 yards as a freshman in 2021.

With the start of the 2022 season under two months away, Shipley will soon have his chance to earn a spot on this list, but for now, here are Clemson’s last 12 1,000-yard seasons.

Spiller names his top five Clemson offensive playmakers ever

Former Clemson great C.J. Spiller was a guest this week on The Players Club Podcast, hosted by former Clemson running back Darien Rencher. The Clemson legend and Tigers’ current running backs coach was asked by Rencher to list the top five offensive …

Former Clemson great C.J. Spiller was a guest this week on The Players Club Podcast, hosted by former Clemson running back Darien Rencher.

The Clemson legend and Tigers’ current running backs coach was asked by Rencher to list the top five offensive playmakers to ever come through Tiger Town, in his opinion.

Spiller, in no particular order, named his top five of running backs Travis Etienne, James Davis and Raymond Priester, quarterback Deshaun Watson and wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

Spiller also named quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Tajh Boyd, wide receivers Mike Williams and DeAndre Hopkins, and running Andre Ellington as honorable mentions.

You can watch Spiller talk with Rencher about his top five Clemson offensive playmakers ever below:

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