Clemson Tigers Running Back Leads Tasty NIL Campaign

Clemson Tigers running back David Eziomume continues to be apparent in the team’s offensive unit, leading him to a NIL partnership with Popeyes over the course of the 2025 football season. 

The redshirt freshman joined nine other players from across the country who are recognized as players who rose from back-ups in 2024 to starters this season. Eziomume has seen snaps as the team’s starting tailback over the course of 2025 so far. 

“It’s a blessing, honestly,” Eziomume said in an interview with Clemson Tigers on SI, “but the whole main thing is I partnered with Popeyes, like me and the other nine people on the roster, and we are just celebrating those in 2025 like, right now, it’s what we started.”

The Acworth, Georgia, native only played in five games last season as a true freshman and has now seen snaps in all four games for Clemson this season. 

From last season to having a full offseason experience, Eziomume believes that it has helped shape him to fit the criteria of this deal.

“I just really took it day-by-day,” he said. “This offseason was just a lot about getting a year under your belt, just understanding that you’re meant to be here and just a lot of growing your faith as well as growing your preparation.”

The tailback learned a lot under running backs coach C.J. Spiller, who he describes as someone who has “always been there for me”, since his recruitment from North Cobb High School. 

“I love a coach like that,” he said, “who’s actually played the game and you can kind of model it after him.”

Eziomume believes that his overall growth has been a key factor to his rise up the depth chart. One year in college football can change the mentality of an individual, and the redshirt freshman knows the fixes he has to make going into the rest of his career. 

“I just feel like an element of understanding the game more, like pass protection, there are so many key elements of the game as well as just understanding college football and growing as a human being as well,” he said. “I feel like all of those things I’ve really gotten better with.”

While starter Adam Randall takes most of the snaps as the top running back in the depth chart, Eziomume enjoys the blend that he gets with sharing snaps with the senior, calling him a “wholesome” player to be around.

“I really like how it’s working out too because to see somebody as athletic as him be able to ‘Okay, I’m going to run a go ball,’ and then hop in the backfield and take it 60 yards down the field, like we don’t get a lot of dudes doing that,” Eziomume said. “So I’m just telling you that’s just to show you he’s different, for real.”

As for the rest of the season, Clemson is 1-3, and while the team’s chances of a postseason are a long shot, the Tigers’ running back said that the coaching staff remains focused on fixing the work that needs to be done. 

“It’s still going to be the same, but, at the same time, it’s going to be better,” Eziomume said. “It’s going to be more encouraging, understanding our current situation, it’s going to be a change performance-wise.

I feel like my coaches are still going to have the same heart, still going to be the same people, but at the same time, they’re going to know that there’s work that needs to be done, and that’s just going to drive everybody.”

Clemson fans who are Popeyes Rewards Members can redeem Eziomume’s promo code (Eziomume12) to help him climb the leaderboard against the other nine athletes. The athlete who receives the most fan participation will score big at the end of the season. The winner receives a fully catered tailgate celebration for their fans during rivalry week in November. 

The campaign goes from Sept. 9 to Nov. 8. In the meantime, the Clemson running back will continue to work on his craft as the team heads into the bye week, where the team will continue to “win the one” every day, a point that head coach Dabo Swinney alludes to often. 

“Whether it’s the one practice period, whether it’s the one play, the one game, the one week, you just got to win the one,” Eziomume said. “So, at this point, I feel like, and I go as a whole, we look too far ahead and we don’t see where we are in the moment. So, I feel like we just have got to look down and see where our feet are at.”