How do you measure a difference maker? How do you quantify one student-athlete’s impact? Perhaps it’s in touchdowns, rushing yards, yards per catch, or even their “clutch plays” on “money downs.” Clemson Tigers running back Adam Randall might not boast the metrics of a traditional college football standout, but he is a difference maker — in more ways than you can imagine.
Clemson Impact-Maker Adam Randall Earns Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Recognition
“I just go about my daily life trying to be the best person that I can be,” Randall opens up during a PFSN exclusive sit-down to discuss his recent nomination for the AllState AFCA Good Works Team. “And, you know, be the best human being on and off the field as a leader within my team and within the community. To be able to do things off the field has been a blessing.”
Randall was a four-star wide receiver in the 2022 class, a long-time Clemson commit who held offers from every corner of the college football landscape. Since arriving three years ago, he’s tallied 533 receiving yards, averaging 11.1 yards per catch, with two touchdowns and 44 rushing yards on four attempts. By his own admission, the statistics don’t paint an impactful picture.
Don’t let that fool you into thinking that Randall isn’t a difference-maker at Clemson. Whether through the Randall Youth Football Camp, a Turkey Drive, his role as an advocate mentor, speaking engagements at his former high school, or his work with P.A.W. Journey, the Tigers running back has made a difference in the lives of others on campus and in the community.
The result of his continued commitment to excellence as a man is the nomination for the Allstate Good Works Team. The award recognizes the efforts of student-athletes beyond the football field. It shines a light on the great examples of community service, academic success, and leadership that you can’t measure in wins and losses or in a box score or a fancy graphic.
For every touchdown he scores, for every on-field moment of happiness he creates for fans, how he makes a difference matters more. There’s a clear passion when he talks about his community endeavors, which have seen him touch the lives of people in the Clemson community, outside the immediate vicinity of “Death Valley,” and beyond the borders of the USA.
“Man, that experience was so different, so eye-opening,” Randall reflects on a 2024 trip to South Africa with P.A.W. Journey. “I had the opportunity to experience that with my brother as well. Just him being alongside me, I think it really opened our eyes to how much the world is bigger. It’s just bigger than us.”
“We looked at each other one day,” Randall continues, “and we were like ‘how much can we impact as many people as we can while we’re on this earth?’ Going around and seeing those people living in different situations that are so different than over here in America, it was really eye-opening to me, my brother, my teammates, and even the P.A.W. Journey staff.”
“You walk around there and they don’t have the best conditions, but they’re walking around with a smile on their face. Sometimes they don’t have running water, sometimes they don’t have food, but they try to make the best opportunity that they have. If we can’t do that over here in America, when we have all these amenities and resources, I think we can really learn something from these people.”
Coming to Clemson in 2022 provided a perfect conduit for Randall to be a difference-maker. Opportunities, including the P.A.W. Journey, make the pursuit of community service sustainable, while in head coach Dabo Swinney, the program has a visible, faith-based leader who helps extract the very best out of every student athlete as a man, not just a football player.
“Coach Swinney, his faith and his vision was one of the biggest reasons why I committed, and one of the biggest reasons when my parents dropped me off here at Clemson, they were so comfortable to leave me here,” Randall explains. “It pours into the players that he has on the team, and it pours into the people that he has in the program.”
“His vision throughout the entire time I’ve been in college is just so impeccable,” Randall continues, explaining Swinney’s influence. “I’ve never met a person like him. I’m so thankful that I have a head coach like that. He’s gonna do anything and everything to win, and do things the right way. I appreciate that he carries himself that way, and that was one of the reasons I came here.”
Randall wasn’t the only family member to come to Clemson due to coach Swinney. Both Adam and Austin Randall played for the Tigers in 2023 and 2024, strengthening the brotherly bond and resolve to be community-oriented in every aspect of their lives while creating memories that will stay with the young running back for the rest of his life.
I sat down with Clemson’s Adam Randall to talk about his @WeAreAFCA Allstate Good Works Team nomination, fueled by his work in both the Clemson and Myrtle Beach communities.
Alongside his brother, the Randall brothers have made a significant impact both on and off the field 🙌 pic.twitter.com/S3Z7fwsThY
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@hodgkinsonsport) July 21, 2025
“I’m thankful that Coach Swinney let him have that,” Randall talks excitedly about his time at Clemson with his brother. “One of the coolest moments my mom said she’s ever had as a mother was when me and Austin ran out there on the field at the same time. Having an opportunity to play with him and impact so many people.
“Now he goes home, and he’s such a different person because he has the experience from this program of just how to be a leader, how to be a world-class man. He makes such an impact on so many different lives now that he has these tools. I have seen such an incredible change within himself and his mindset.”
Myrtle Beach Born, Myrtle Beach Raised
“I never wanted anybody in my community to think that I was bigger than anybody else. You know? I wanted the people to think I’m from Myrtle Beach. I’m the hometown kid.”
On the wall behind Randall is an impressively large tiger wall art. Seated behind him on the chair is a soft toy tiger, wearing a Clemson orange t-shirt with an ACC logo clearly visible. There is no doubting his passion for this Tigers program or the genuine nature of the work in that community that has resulted in national recognition ahead of the 2025 college football season.
Yet, Randall is just as proud, perhaps even more so, of where he’s come from. He didn’t leave Myrtle Beach with a pocketful of dreams and a desire to escape the place that raised him. That community, those individuals who played a key component in the journey to his sporting success, they’re his people. They forged him, and the Clemson star won’t ever forget that.
“When I’m back home, if you ever want to go have a meal with me, want to come talk, ever want to come to the field and work out with me, imma be there. I’m just gonna be a humble guy and make sure that I can reach everybody that I physically possibly can. I’m going to make the most of it, make my impact known, within the Myrtle Beach community.”
Randall isn’t just paying lip service. With a degree in business management earned in three years at Clemson, the opportunities afforded to him by Name, Image, and Likeness, and the desire to be an entrepreneur, the Clemson running back is already contributing to the Myrtle Beach community. He wants to do things the right way, the way he was taught as a young child.
“One thing we’re doing right now is we’re building a barber shop back home in Little River,” Randall tells me. “It’s just something that I got into because I wanted to have a spot in the community that you can go and be like, ‘Okay, this is Randall’s place,’ and you know it’s their establishment. This is how it’s run. And we’ll hold events there that could bring the community together.”
“Because I have a platform that brings people together on Friday or Saturday nights. Doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, what race or ethnicity you are. If you’re all cheering for the same team or one person, it brings people together. This platform has helped me build something that can help the community be successful.”
Randall honed the football skills that led him to Clemson at Myrtle Beach High School. A finalist for Mr. Football in South Carolina as a 1,200+ yard senior All-American wide receiver, he tallied over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons while being described as a “Freak Athlete” due to his electric football capability and blazing 10.94 seconds 100m sprint time.
In a full circle moment, he returns there to give talks to the next generation of Myrtle Beach superstars. He was once that eager-eyed kid, soaking up everything head coach Mickey Wilson poured into him. Now, he shows his appreciation for that inspiration by being an example of what can be achieved when talent is surrounded by the most positive of influences.
“Mickey Wilson was a big part of my football development and development as a man,” Randall explains. “Growing up, he was one of those guys that you looked at that you wanted to play for. He was a really good leader, and I just want to help him out in the best way I can.”
“If he needs something, if he needs me to come speak, if he needs me to come out there and show the guys some drills that I’ve learned from going off to college, I’m going to be there and do it because he gave so much to me. I want to give so much back to him, you know? The Myrtle Beach program, they do it the right way. Being a part of that culture really helped develop me into the man that I am today.”
Doing things the right way is important to Randall, whether that’s ensuring that he earns the respect of the community with his business venture, how he conducts himself around his former high school when he returns to speak there, or how he prepares to go into battle on the football field on a Saturday. You can trace the origins of that mindset right back to Myrtle Beach.
Jerome Randall played football at South Carolina State University, but he also volunteers at Myrtle Beach High, the school that put his son on the football map. He set up The Randall Foundation, using his own experience of football to educate, motivate, and empower the youth of Horry County, raising funds through golf tournaments, football camps, and pancake suppers.
“His vision just kind of turned into my vision,” the Clemson running back tells me. “My dad, my parents, they have shown me the way to do things in the right way, you know? He’s always been a guy in the community. We put on an annual camp that’s free every single year for the past decade. He’s given away scholarships to student athletes going on to college.”
Behind every great man, or in the case of the Randall family, men, is an even greater woman. Wanda Randall isn’t “just” the wife of a former player and football coach as much as she isn’t “just” the mum of two student athletes with Clemson on their resumes. As Randall opens up on the impact of family on his community efforts, it’s clear to see that she’s a force of her own.
“My mom’s been there every step of the way, right behind him, you know, carrying the torch and making sure everything goes smoothly. She’s always the one that gets things planned out because she’s a little bit more organized than my father. She’s always been the backbone of my family.”
“Even me coming to college,” Randall continues, “she’s always asking me what she can do to help the Clemson community and help the football team. They’re just so willing to be helpful. It’s just really been an impact in my life that I’m so grateful to have. Just to see people that are leaders within the community and within whatever they’re doing. I’m really blessed to have them.”
Randall Reflects on Clemson Journey and Relationship With Cade Klubnik
“I had to realize that I had to take my identity a little bit away from football, because, it could be taken away from you like that. Over these last three years, I have learned so much about myself that I wouldn’t take away anything that has happened to me.”
Randall hasn’t always had the easiest time at Clemson. Leaving Myrtle Beach as a highly recruited, productive, playmaker with multiple honors, he was riding as high as someone with his humility could allow. Despite being a true freshman, there was an expectation (perhaps not laid out by himself) of being able to make an instant impact at one college football’s top programs.
Yet in spring practice, he tore his ACL. Stripped of everything that football had given him, Randall could have caved. Instead, buoyed by the love and energy of the Clemson staff, he channeled his energy into community — but also making a comeback. A testament to his resilience, he was back on the field by the Tigers’ third game of the season against Louisiana Tech.
Talking about the injury so early in his career, Randall is reflective. “I’ve played a lot, but I didn’t make as many plays, I mean statistically wise, I haven’t made as many plays as I would like.” Yet, he never sounds bitter or resentful. He knows his impact, his ability to make a difference for this football program and this community, isn’t defined by gaudy numbers.
Despite that, there have been moments on the field that resonate, where Randall has embedded himself in Clemson Football folklore. Moments like a 41-yard kick return against the SMU Tigers in the ACC Championship Game that helped seal a title victory for the Tigers and a place in the College Football Playoff that would likely have been lost with a different result.
“I mean, it was just kind of a storybook ending, and I couldn’t have imagined it,” Randall sums up his emotions in that moment. “If you had told me going into the game that I was going to be a kick returner and it was going to be one of the biggest moments of our season, I would have looked at you so crazy. So, I mean, it’s just crazy how God works in so many different ways.”
Randall is also in the Clemson records book, of sorts. While he will play running back full-time in 2025 (a return to a position he played growing up), he was listed as a wide receiver when he took a carry for 41 yards, the longest for a pass catcher since 2012.
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In doing so, he inserted his name alongside Tigers’ legend Sammy Watkins, an achievement that rekindled a childhood connection to the football program.
“I watched him, Tajh Boyd, and DeAndre Hopkins, when I was coming up as a kid,” Randall explains what it means to hear his name mentioned alongside a Clemson great. “I have a distinct memory of them playing in the Orange Bowl one year and me looking at my dad and being like, ‘That’s so cool.'”
“They were throwing the oranges off the podium, and I just looked at my dad and said, ‘Dad, look at Sammy and look at Tajh and look at Coach Swinney just up there having a good time.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, man, if you keep working, that could be you one day.'”
“I played in the Orange Bowl. I played in the ACC championship. I played in the playoffs. I mean, it’s just crazy how God works in a full circle. So, yeah, just be able to be spoken in the same breath as a legend, as you say, just so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to do these crazy things that I’ve dreamt of doing.”
Much like his entire Clemson experience, Randall’s on-field time with the Tigers has been defined by the relationships cultivated as much as the action on the field. Arriving in the same class as Cade Klubnik in 2022, they shared a room together, and it’s clear that running back and quarterback have had a tremendous influence on each other as football players, and as men.
“What makes Cade so special on the field is the man he is off the field,” Randall explains. “He does things in the right way. I couldn’t have dreamt of a better roommate coming into college. His mindset and his mentality are so different than anybody else’s. He wants to beat himself every single day.”
“When he beats himself every single day, he knows that he’s going to outwork anybody else because his standards are so high for himself that nobody else can hold him to another standard. So I would say, his mentality, his mindset, his love, his faith, his passion is what drives him into a different realm than a lot of other players that we see in college football today.”
Having played in three seasons, 2025 will be Randall’s last at Clemson. After a brief dalliance as a ball carrier at the end of the last campaign, he’s spent the offseason finessing his craft, putting himself in the best position to make an impact as a potential Tigers’ RB1.
With one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, a talented wide receiver room, and a defense akin to the “Power Rangers” units of old, there is a sense of expectation surrounding Clemson from all corners of the college football landscape. Don’t expect that noise around the program to penetrate the locker room or distract Randall and his teammates from the task at hand.
“It’s going to take a lot for us to achieve that national championship, that goal that we have,” Randall concludes his thoughts on the 2025 campaign. “But if we take it one step at a time and we continue to build and bond around each other, I think that we can do something special. We got to keep our heads down, keep grinding, and not listen to the outside noise.”
Build and bond. Even while plotting for the ultimate college football glory, Randall has community, togetherness, and brotherhood at the epicentre of his thought process. His impact on the football field for the Tigers this fall is yet to be written, but he’s already a proven difference-maker for Clemson — as a program, and as a place — as he prepares for one last ride.
