Clemson’s offense is asking a lot of Gideon Davidson, and the sophomore is walking into the challenge with the kind of confidence the Tigers need.
After finishing last season 7-6 and ranking 105th nationally in rushing, Clemson is counting on Davidson to look more like a seasoned back than a player just starting his second year. He handled 60 carries for 260 yards as a freshman while backing up Adam Randall, but the Tigers need more from him now if they’re going to get their ground game - and their record - moving in the right direction in 2026.
“Gideon is experienced now, and confident,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “That’s gonna be a competitive group.”
Davidson has embraced the assignment in a very visible way. He’s wearing Randall’s No. 8 this season, a nod to the player who led Clemson with 168 carries in 2025 and finished with 814 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“I didn’t have to ask, but I do want to keep his legacy going, walk in his footsteps. I do admire Adam in that way,” Davidson said.
A big part of Davidson’s limited role last season came from the offense around him. Under former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, Clemson averaged 31.5 rushing attempts per game, a number that sat well below the ACC’s most run-heavy team, Miami, which averaged 43.6.
That’s expected to shift now that Chad Morris is back calling plays. Morris previously ran Clemson’s offense from 2011-14, and during that stretch the Tigers averaged 41.6 carries per game. Davidson said Morris wants the offense back over the 40-carry mark.
“That really made me excited,” Davidson said. “Here’s an opportunity to improve my skills, my skillsets, allows me to get more yards.”
The sophomore is also looking for something else that never came in his first year: touchdowns. Davidson didn’t score at all as a freshman.
Still, he won’t be carrying the backfield alone. Clemson has a crowded room that includes SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. and returning backs Jay Haynes, Jarvis Green and David Eziomume. Swinney sad had Haynes and Green not been hurt last season, Clemson might not have gone out and signed Johnson and had the luxury of five potential contributors in the backfield.
Davidson sees the depth as a plus.
“I think the competition is great. We're definitely going to have a lot of depth,” he said. “I honestly think we're we're going to have the guys to do it.”
The new-look run game won’t get much time to settle in before a major early test. Clemson opens Week 1 against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 5.
LSU’s defense allowed the 32nd-fewest rushing yards in the country last season, and the Tigers kept defensive coordinator Blake Baker under new coach Lane Kiffin. They also added two five-star high school defensive linemen and top transfer edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen. Clemson’s first opponent also added Notre Dame transfer Junior Tuihalamaka, a late addition from a fifth-year temporary restraining order awarded by a Louisiana judge.
In Other News...
Clemsons Playoff Hopes Just Got An Early National Reality Check
Clemsons offseason buzz got a national measuring stick this week when ESPN rolled out its top 100 college football players entering the 2026 season, and three Tigers made the list. Offensive tackle Brayden Jacobs checked in at No. 91, edge rusher Will Heldt landed at No. 87 and linebacker Sammy Brown arrived highest of the group at No. 39, a snapshot that says plenty about where Clemsons best-known strengths are heading into the fall.
The rankings also serve as an early reminder of the expectations sitting on this roster. ESPNs projections point to a team with legitimate high-end talent, but not necessarily the kind of overwhelming national buzz that comes automatically with the playoff conversation. For Clemson, the bigger question is whether those three players can turn preseason respect into the kind of season that changes the discussion once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons New Offensive Identity Faces Its First Real Test At LSU
Brayden Jacobs has seen Clemsons offseason work up close, and the sophomore offensive lineman says the running game has taken on a more physical, aggressive edge. He pointed to a different mentality up front and a better connection with the other offensive players than the Tigers showed a year ago, a sign that the group believes its identity is starting to harden in preseason practice.
LSU will be the first real chance to see whether that belief carries over when the games count. Jacobs framed the shift as more than just cleaner technique, saying the team feels more committed and hungrier to win, but those are the kinds of preseason answers that only become meaningful once Clemson tries to bring that new identity into a road test against a high-level opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Defense May Hinge On 3 NFL-Caliber Playmakers
Clemsons defense enters the season with a familiar kind of pressure on its front and back end, and much of the attention lands on three players who already look like future NFL names. Will Heldt, Sammy Brown and Ashton Hampton are all being framed as central pieces for a unit that needs more consistency, with outside evaluators taking notice through ESPNs top 100 player rankings and even a 2027 NFL mock draft. For Clemson, that kind of recognition is less about hype than it is about proof that the Tigers have legitimate high-end talent to build around.
The challenge is turning individual upside into a defense that can carry the whole group. The defensive line still has issues to clean up, and Clemson needs broader improvement if it wants to look like the kind of defense that can match the programs standard. Heldt, Brown and Hampton bring production, leadership and the sort of athletic profile that gets scouts talking, but the bigger question is whether their presence is enough to raise the entire unit when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]