Swinney on Why Davidson Didn’t Get Any Carries vs. LSU
By: Gavin Oliver September 1, 2025

When it comes to Clemson’s running back room, a lot of the offseason attention was centered around true freshman Gideon Davidson, who was one of the nation’s top-ranked running backs in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Gideon Davidson – the No. 3 running back and No. 59 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, per ESPN – generated a lot of buzz and drew plenty of praise from coaches and teammates alike over the offseason after enrolling at Clemson in January.

Of all the true freshmen on the Clemson football team, the expectations might’ve been the highest for Davidson, at least from the fan base. With very little production returning at the running back position, and Davidson being one of the highest-rated backs in the last recruiting class, many were expecting an immediate impact from him.

However, Davidson barely saw any action on offense in Clemson’s season opener, playing just two snaps in the 17-10 loss at home to LSU on Saturday night. The 6-foot, 200-pounder did not receive any of Clemson’s 20 carries in the contest.

During his weekly Zoom call with the media on Sunday evening, Swinney lent some insight into why Davidson didn’t get any carries against LSU, saying he made a blocking mistake on his first snap of the game and thus didn’t “get as much opportunity after that.”

“Gid got in there, his first play, he just missed his block on the lead block,” Swinney explained, “so he didn’t quite get as much opportunity after that.”

Davidson more than proved his worth at the high school level, helping lead his Liberty Christian (Va.) team to a state title in each of his final two seasons. In 2023, he earned MaxPreps National Junior of the Year honors. As a senior, he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Virginia after rushing for 2,341 yards with 37 touchdowns.

Fans were excited to see Davidson bring some of that production to the field for the Tigers. While it didn’t happen in the opener, we’ll see if he gets more opportunity to show what he can do this Saturday when Clemson takes on Troy at Memorial Stadium (3:30 p.m., ACC Network).