Clemson Tigers News: Gideon Davidson, Dabo Swinney

Clemson 2025 commitment wins Player of the Year Award

Gideon Davidson has been named the National Junior Player of the Year by MaxPreps.

Davidson is verbally committed to Clemson Football. He is a 4-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite, currently ranked 75th in the nation. He plays at Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Davidson is currently the highest-rated prospect in Clemson’s Class of 2025. His teammate, offensive lineman Easton Ware, is also part of the Tigers’ 2025 Class.

Clemson Football isn’t planning to use the transfer portal right now

Dabo Swinney met with the press following the opening of the Early Signing Period, which as usual was wrapped up early for the Tigers.

A common question during the presser was if Clemson Football was planning to add any more players, either high school prospects or via the transfer portal.

Swinney’s response was consistent. For now, the Tigers aren’t looking to add any more players at any position.

The Tigers are currently at 86 scholarships based on what we know right now.

There will likely be players leaving the team between now and the start of fall camp in 2024, which is when they need to be at 85 scholarship players or less.

The departures never seem quite as high as we might expect, however. There hasn’t been a rush to enter the portal following spring practice. Usually, a player enters here or there at random times.

Swinney did confirm they made four portal offers this offseason so far.

Swinney pointed at a handful of reasons why what Clemson was looking for in a portal lineman and what portal linemen were looking for in a school didn’t match up.

Swinney cited most transfers desire for playing time as a motivationg factor, which Clemson wasn't willing to guarantee. He also pointed out that the Tigers were looking for players with 2-3 years of eligibility remaining, which wasn't abundantly available.