Note: The following appears in the October 2025 issue of Orange: The Experience. For full access to all of the publication’s content, join IPTAY today online or by calling 864-656-2115.
It’s not uncommon for commuters headed southbound on Interstate 85 from Charlotte to Upstate South Carolina to experience delays and detours in their journeys. The highway, much like a football program, seems to be under perpetual construction.
For senior Adam Randall, his detour landed him in a new role in Clemson’s backfield.
Randall’s journey at Clemson started in the spring of 2022. The midyear enrollee arrived from Myrtle Beach as a highly touted wide receiver ranked among the nation’s top 125 players by several major recruiting services. In his first semester on campus, he was one of the breakout stars of Clemson’s spring practice slate, as the chiseled 6-foot-2, 230-pound pass catcher garnered the nickname “Baby Julio” — a nod to the similarities his stature, his No. 8 jersey and his ability to make contested plays shared with long-time NFL star Julio Jones.
But as quickly as his momentum built, it vanished. In early April in one of the team’s final practices of that spring, Randall tore his right ACL. Despite the setback, Randall returned to action in a remarkable 169 days to appear in 12 games as freshman, but the lost development time minimized his impact and limited him to 128 yards on 10 catches. He powered through a broken hand in 2023 and stress fractures in his feet in 2024 to appear in 25 games across his sophomore and junior campaigns.
Clemson’s passing game ascended rapidly in 2024, catapulting from 61st in the country in 2023 to 15th in 2024 in passing yards per game. The production jumped in part thanks to the arrivals of Freshman All-American Bryant Wesco Jr. and impact freshman T.J. Moore alongside the healthy return of slot receiver Antonio Williams. Randall played 12 games, but Clemson’s improved depth held him to fewer than 250 offensive snaps on the year.
“Adam’s been one of those guys where it’s been frustrating because I want everyone to see what we’ve seen,” Head Coach Dabo Swinney said. “I know how talented he is… He’s had a lot of challenges along the way — unavailability, injuries, different stuff — and I think he lost his confidence a little bit.”
But in Clemson’s dramatic 34-31 walk-off win against No. 8 SMU, Randall made the biggest play of his career, and it didn’t come at wide receiver.
Clemson lost its starting kick returner, Jay Haynes, to a knee injury during the contest. On a later kickoff return, its backup returner made a mental error that cost Clemson field position amid SMU’s furious comeback. Randall approached Swinney to volunteer — and practically demand — his services as an emergency kick returner.
By the time SMU tied the game at 31 with 16 seconds remaining, Swinney was in the market for someone sure-handed and trustworthy to simply fair catch the ball. That was the plan for Randall until, at the last moment, Swinney changed his mind and told Randall, “You know what? Let’s return this thing.”
So on his first kickoff return of the season, Randall fielded an SMU kick at the Clemson four-yard line and weaved through traffic and contact to return the ball 41 yards to the Clemson 45 with nine seconds to play. The positioning set up Clemson to gain another 17 yards on its ensuing play and call timeout, setting up Nolan Hauser’s ACC title-winning 56-yard field goal as time expired.
Afterward, Clemson boarded its buses for its late night return to Clemson from Charlotte. And as the wheels of the bus turned down I-85, so too were the wheels turning in Swinney’s head.
A shoulder injury had significantly limited starting running back Phil Mafah down the stretch, and the addition of Haynes’ injury against SMU left Clemson with questionable depth at running back prior to the College Football Playoff.
“The whole bus ride back I’m thinking about Adam Randall,” Swinney said.
Swinney called a meeting with Randall the next day following Clemson’s College Football Playoff Selection Show watch party. The transfer portal was set to open a day later, but Swinney wanted to talk to Randall before it did.
“I asked him, ‘What’s the best thing you do as a football player?’” Swinney told the Gramlich & Mac Lain Podcast. “He said, ‘Run with the ball,’ and I said, ‘Ding ding ding. The best thing you do is when you have the ball, you’re a problem to tackle.’”
So Swinney launched into his proposal for Randall: Transition to running back immediately in advance of Clemson’s College Football Playoff game against Texas, then use the spring the fully develop at the position for 2025.
“Let’s rebrand you,” Swinney pitched. “And [if it doesn’t work out], you can leave in May and I’ll do everything I can to help you get in the right spot.”
Swinney’s escape hatch for Randall quickly proved unnecessary. Randall ripped off a 41-yard rush at Texas, and this past offseason, he adapted swimmingly to the running back position. The respected and beloved teammate also quickly became a veteran leader in a previously foreign position room.
For most outside observers — and, frankly, even several internal ones — many anticipated that Randall’s road back on I-85 after the ACC Championship Game would carry him out of Clemson and right into the transfer portal.
But those who saw the stacked depth chart ahead of Randall perhaps couldn’t see the depth of Randall’s love for Clemson.
“Clemson was the place I wanted to be,” Randall said. “This is home for me, so why not stick it out?”
Randall grew up coming to Dabo Swinney Football Camps in Clemson during his youth, even befriending Swinney’s youngest son, Clay, through the camps. Randall coveted an opportunity to play collegiately for the in-state power.
Just past midnight in the early minutes of Sept. 1, 2020, Randall somewhat groggily answered a phone call from Clemson Wide Receivers Coach Tyler Grisham. The nationally coveted high school wideout already boasted numerous offers, and in those wee hours, he learned of his opportunity to play at his dream school.
Randall and his parents, Jerome and Wanda, recounted the moment on an episode of Clemson’s Emmy Award-winning series, House Call, this summer.
“I ran up there to my parents’ room after I got off the phone,” Adam said.
“Teary-eyed,” Wanda interjected.
“Ran up the stairs,” Jerome added, demonstratively hitting a table with his fists to simulate the noise. “We thought someone was breaking in the house.”
“I had to wake them up,” Adam continued. “I flipped the light on, and my mom rises up quick and goes, ‘What’s going on?!’ I was like, ‘Coach Grish just called me! Coach Grish just called me! They offered me a scholarship!’ My dad woke up, and I’d already had 20-plus scholarship offers…”
“But he was waiting on that one,” Jerome said, smiling.
“He was like, ‘Clemson? For real?!’” Adam recounted. “He got up and he was like, ‘Man, that’s great! That’s great!’ I’m teary-eyed, my dad’s teary-eyed, my mom’s still half asleep.”
“Then we all laid in the bed and cried,” Jerome added.
This July, Swinney said he truly believed Randall would be “one of the great, great stories in college football” in 2025. The rebranded Randall entered Clemson’s marquee season opener against No. 9 LSU as Clemson’s starter at running back.
In addition to his on-field contribution, Randall’s service to the Clemson community and his home area of Horry County led to his selection to the AFCA Good Works Team. To Swinney, it’s all part of the Adam Randall package, one built to navigate any detours on his journey.
“Adam is one of the best leaders we’ve had,” Swinney said. “We say, ‘Let somebody else’s taillights be your headlights.’ Adam is the taillights you want to follow… He’s a special, special human being and a great football player.”
