In a season-opening 26-19 victory over Auburn, Clemson running back Andre Ellington burst onto the scene with a 231-yard game.

The speedy back broke a 68-yard run to set up Clemson’s first touchdown, and he carried the offense the rest of the night.

“He’s been great,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said during his weekly teleconference Sunday. “He gives us great balance; he gives us a home-run threat back there.”

Despite rushing for 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, Ellington was overshadowed by quarterback Tajh Boyd’s breakout season and wide receiver Sammy Watkins’ historic true-freshman season. Watkins took the Atlantic Coast Conference by storm, totaling 82 catches for 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns, and became just the third true freshman to be named an Associated Press All-American at season’s end.

But on May 4, campus police arrested Watkins for possession of marijuana, Vyvanse and Adderall. Watkins was suspended for the first two games of the season.

The suspension could’ve been a disaster for Clemson (2-0).

Instead, Ellington came up with the biggest performance of his career in Clemson’s season-opening victory. Behind his big night, the Tigers overcame the loss of Watkins and earned a quality win against the Southeastern Conference opponent.

“I knew that the workload was going to be a lot for me as far as a running back standpoint,” Ellington said. “We were going to rush the ball and not having that guy out there, we needed to establish the run early.”

The workload that Ellington has taken on would have been impossible earlier in his college career.

Ellington took on a full-time starting role last season and battled a hamstring injury early in the season. He then sprained his ankle, which required surgery in the offseason that held him out of the team’s spring game.

For the first time, the running back is completely healthy. And Ellington said his explosiveness is back.

Rivals.com named him the No. 5 running back in his class coming out high school, and he’s shown that ability this season for Clemson.

With the return of Watkins and the continued progression of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, the Clemson’s offense is dangerous heading into its game on Saturday against Furman.

“The sky’s the limit for our offense,” Ellington said. “We’ve got so many guys who can make plays, you never know who’s going to get the ball.”

But the biggest difference is Ellington.

In 2011, Boyd, the quarterback, attempted 499 passes and ran the ball 142 times. And though the Tigers have only played two games, Boyd has accounted for 79 of the team’s 171 plays.

“Last year, we were down in situations where the teams would drop eight defenders and running the ball wasn’t a threat,” Boyd said.

Ellington’s breakout performances in 2012 have kept defenses honest and have forced them to defend the run. They’ve also opened up Boyd’s receivers downfield.

Ellington has also taken on a leadership role as a senior on the offense.

“I’ve just got to kind of motivate everybody, keep everybody focused,” Ellington said. “We are a young team this year, and we can’t let those guys get relaxed and get satisfied with the success we have.”

One thing Swinney doesn’t fear is that the return of Watkins could throw off the chemistry that’s helped Clemson to a fast start.

With Ellington off to the best start in his career and Hopkins as a potential No. 1 receiver, Watkins is happy to see his teammates gaining recognition while they carry a heavier workload.

“He’s his teammates’ biggest fan,” Swinney said in his teleconference. “There’s no one who’s been more excited for his teammates than Sammy Watkins.”

Watkins was on the sidelines during the Tigers victory over Ball State. Ellington said the sophomore spent the game motivating his teammates in the early part of the game.

Once the game got out of hand, the suspended wide receiver was ecstatic.

“This is a really special group of guys,” Swinney said. “They’re very unselfish guys, they just want to win.”