When Gideon Davidson made his college debut in Clemson’s season opener against LSU, he hardly saw any action on offense. The highly touted true freshman running back played just two snaps in that contest and did not have a rushing attempt.

After that game, head coach Dabo 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.”

Fast forward to the present, and Davidson has come a long way in that area and made big strides in terms of his pass protection.

Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley met with the media Wednesday and discussed Davidson’s significant growth and development as a pass blocker since the season began.

“Just really doing it in games has certainly been great to see,” Riley said. “I know it’s going to give him a lot of confidence of actually executing some of those blocks. I remember he had a great one early on, kind of his early reps in the Duke game, against a really good player there. So, I just think him actually doing it in-game and now gaining the confidence just with what that requires and what all that entails.”

Of course, a lot of the offseason attention on Clemson’s running back room was centered around Davidson — the No. 3 running back and No. 59 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, per ESPN. Davidson generated a lot of buzz and drew plenty of praise from coaches and teammates alike over the offseason after enrolling at Clemson in January.

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.

With Davidson’s pass blocking turning from a weakness to now an improving asset, and his ability to apply that skill in games, it has helped Davidson earn more trust from the coaching staff to be on the field.

Overall, Davidson continues to prove how valuable he can be to the Tigers next season. He has the vision, balance and explosiveness to excel at this level and has also shown he can be a factor in the passing game when given the opportunity.

In 10 games this season, the 6-foot, 200-pounder has rushed for 173 yards on 41 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per tote, while adding eight receptions for 62 yards.

“Certainly with Gideon, I think [his pass blocking] has been a huge positive for him, on top of his skill set,” Riley said. “So, it’s been great.”