There were not many players Clemson Tigers fans were more excited about from the class of 2025 than running back Gideon Davidson.
After losing Will Shipley and Phil Mafah in back-to-back years, the future of the running back room looked questionable coming in.
Jay Haynes was a promising player who looked to be progressing steadily towards the end of the 2024 college season. Unfortunately, Haynes suffered an ACL injury that kept him out all of last year.
Other running backs such as David Eziomume and Jarvis Green have made notable impressions, but not enough to feel confident in either of them being the primary back for Clemson, though. It is why Davidson is the player many people see as the one to fit into that featured role for the Tigers.
Gideon Davidson enters sophomore year at Clemson with a ton of upside
Coming out of high school, Davidson was viewed as a top-100 player in the 2025 recruiting cycle. He was a four-star prospect, who in back-to-back years won MaxPrep’s Junior of the Year and Virginia High School football Player of the Year. Getting him out of state was such a huge pickup.
Not only that, but Davidson also won the 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year Award for the State of Virginia. He finished his high school career with over 7,400 rushing yards before he committed to be a Tiger with Clemson as his preferred college of choice..
Although his first season at Clemson was not as spectacular as some may have hoped for, it was solid enough for the freshman to earn a backup role. Davidson had 60 carries for 260 yards in 2025. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry as well.
This season, Davidson is expected to move into the starting running back role. A big second year is needed out of Davidson for the Tigers to improve on offense from a season ago.
Why Gideon Davidson projects to become the featured RB for Clemson
Head coach Dabo Swinney stated one of the main reasons he wanted to make a change at offensive coordinator was to improve the run game. New offensive coordinator Chad Morris has made it known he will establish the run game this season.
Add to that the loss of Cade Klubnik, meaning there will be a new starting quarterback in 2026. Whether Christopher Vizzina or Tait Reynolds wins the job, the Tigers will need the running game to take some pressure off of them. Having an underrated wide receiving corps should help out as well.
Frankly, Davidson is the name everyone is looking at to emerge as the next star running back for the Tigers. He will have help from the names mentioned previously, as well as from SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr.
However, Davidson is the player who is expected to carry the bulk of the workload. According to many of those who have seen his work through the spring and summer, he is ready to rise to the occasion for Clemson.
As long the Tigers have a balanced offensive attack, they should be a force in the ACC once again.
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