What’s on the summer agenda for Dabo Swinney’s team, as Clemson looks to return to the College Football Playoff and contend for a national title in 2025?

CBS Sports recently went through its post-spring top 25 rankings and pinpointed one specific area each team “must address for success” during the upcoming season.

For the Tigers, CBS Sports says they need to “find comfort in the run game.”

Phil Mafah, of course, has moved on to the next level. He recorded the 24th 1,000-yard rushing season in Clemson history last season despite being hampered all year by a shoulder injury, especially down the stretch.

The Tigers also lost top backup running back Jay Haynes to a torn ACL in last year’s ACC Championship Game, leading Clemson to transition Adam Randall to running back full-time this spring following three years at wide receiver.

Meanwhile, true freshman Gideon Davidson generated plenty of buzz this spring after enrolling early and caught the eye of Swinney, who believes Davidson is the best running back from the 2025 recruiting class.

Looking ahead to next season, with Mafah having played his final game at Clemson, and no guarantee that Haynes will be fully healthy by fall camp, the Tigers are going to need some of their other backs to step up, whether it be Davidson, Randall and/or someone else.

After redshirting in 2024, David Eziomume should be ready to take on a more prominent role. Jarvis Green and Keith Adams Jr. are also back. Green showed during the College Football Playoff loss to Texas that he is certainly capable of contributing, catching a touchdowns pass from Cade Klubnik on a wheel route. Adams Jr. is the elder statesmen of the group, entering his fourth season in the program, but has just 44 career carries under his belt.

Here’s what CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford wrote about Clemson’s running back situation as the area that must be addressed to ensure success:

“Tabbed by a few to be college football’s top team this fall, Clemson is loaded on both sides with perhaps its best roster since Dabo Swinney’s last national championship team. That said, the Tigers are inexperienced in the backfield with freshman Gideon Davidson, third-year sophomore Jay Haynes and redshirt freshman David Eziomume expected to share the load at running back after Phil Mafah’s departure. This will be a pass-happy team with Cade Klubnik, but offensive coordinator Garrett Riley needs to be able to breathe easy in short-yardage situations, too.”

Clemson is the No. 4 team in CBS Sports’ post-spring top 25, behind only the top three of reigning national champ Ohio State (No. 1), Texas (No. 2) and Penn State (No. 3). Georgia rounds out the top five behind Clemson.

“No one has been criticized quite like Dabo Swinney in the transfer portal era,” CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello wrote back in early May. “His reluctance to lean on a quick-fix solution in recruiting led to some hiccups, but fantastic retention has allowed the program to develop homegrown talent, much like the Tigers did in the heydays of the four-team CFP. Clemson enters the season with the nation’s most returning production, led by star QB Cade Klubnik. The receivers finally stepped up last season en route to a CFP appearance to give the Tigers a glimpse of the explosive offenses of the past.”