Tavien Feaster says he's healthy: "I'm feeling it"

Feaster says he feels good heading into 2018

by Hannah Rogerson - Correspondent - Thu Aug 23 13:46:15 GMT-04:00 2018

CLEMSON – Tavien Feaster arrived on Clemson’s campus and spent his first season battling the effects of shoulder surgery. Feaster decided to bulk up before the start of his second season but didn’t feel right at the heavier weight. Entering 2018, Feaster’s body is finally healthy.

As a result, Feaster expects a breakout season.

“Definitely, I’m feeling it,” Feaster said earlier this week. “This is the year that I have taken better care of my body, better in the weight room, better at studying film. I feel like this will be a pretty good year for me.

“Last year at the beginning of the summer I was like 224 and then I was like you know something’s got to change, so I dropped down to 210. That’s almost 15 pounds, so obviously, I feel a lot lighter and I’m playing a lot faster.”

Feaster said this has been his best fall camp.

“I’m taking better care of my body, studying more, coming out here and performing better,” he said. “Just all the way around I think I’ve gotten better this camp.”

He’s also been motivated by seeing Travis Etienne atop the depth chart heading into camp.

“I was always motivated. He earned it, he’s a hard runner, a hard worker, he earned it,” Feaster said. “It’s always motivating with a guy like him, and now you’ve got Lyn-J Dixon in the room, so just for those guys to push me and make me better I appreciate them.”

Feaster said the competition in his room has made the entire group better.

“Oh definitely, we have a lot of guys in the room pushing each other day in and day out, so you have to make every day count when you’re out here, every rep count, he said.

Can you compare Lyn-J where he is right now and where Travis was last year?

“You know they’re pretty much the same, they are game breakers. They both came in talented, they are both talented, so I guess you guys will see when they step on the field.”

Coach Elliott was talking about Lyn-J’s willingness in pass protection to get in faces, have you seen that?

“Definitely, he’s a tough guy. He gets in there and runs hard and he’s going to do whatever it takes for him to get on the field.”

How even have the reps been for you?

“I mean the reps have been pretty even, coach (Elliott) does a great job of distributing the reps. Every day we get the same number of reps it’s just a matter of what you do with them.”

How much of an adjustment was it to have to share the load?

“It wasn’t a big adjustment because that’s how we practice. We practice with each other we grind with each other. So just to keep each other fresh and injury free.”

With CJ Spiller being out here and you wearing his number do you feel like you have to play at a higher level?

“No pressure no pressure, but really just taking what I can from him, getting some good tips from him and then just doing them on the field.”

Does he offer advice to you?

“Yes, he does. He offers advice and I’ve picked up a couple of things since he’s been around.”