CLEMSON — This time last year, Dabo Swinney said Gideon Davidson was different than the other running backs they had on the roster.

“He’s unique,” Clemson’s head coach said at the time. “He’s not a guy that sits around and waits to be led. He leads. He’s a leader.”

Though Davidson showed flashes here and there, the Lynchburg, Va., native did not have the type of freshman season he was hoping for when he came to Clemson. He carried the ball just 60 times for 260 yards, while averaging an okay 4.3 yards per carry.

Davidson also caught 11 passes for 93 yards. He did not score a touchdown, and his longest run from scrimmage was a 28-yard burst against Furman.

Some of Davidson’s lack of touches was due to the emergence of Adam Randall, who led the Tigers with 814 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. The rest of it was due to his lack of experience, playing calling and Clemson’s propensity to give up on the running game too early.

“It was difficult at first, but I really just used it as motivation,” Davidson said after the Duke game in 2025. “Just keeping my head down, working harder, listening to what the coaches were saying. I knew I would eventually be getting an opportunity, and when I did, I would take control of that opportunity when it presented itself.”

Two of his best games came in the middle of the season against Duke and Florida State. He ran 12 times for 51 yards against Duke and then had 10 more carries for 39 yards the following week against the Blue Devils.

Davidson then had a career-high 52 yards on seven carries against the Paladins on Nov. 22. Many thought he was about to turn the corner in the Clemson running game, but that did not happen.

For whatever reason, he carried the ball just eight times for 24 yards against rival South  Carolina and then four times for 11 yards in the Tigers’ loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Some thought this spelled doom for Clemson and Davidson would enter the transfer portal in January. Instead, he decided to return to Tigertown.

When SMU transfer Chris Johnson, Jr., committed to Clemson, some thought that might cause Davidson to enter the portal.

Again, he did not.

Instead, he decided to stay in Clemson. Like he said last year, Davidson is sure to use the addition of Johnson as motivation.

“I have learned to be resilient,” he said last season. “Kind of just focused on what I can control. There’s been a lot of ups and downs, but I feel like I have learned to control my emotions, control my physical ability to play football. Focused on myself, trying to further my ability to play running back. To deal with the ups and downs.” 

With his return, as well as the addition of Johnson to go with David Eziomume, Jay Haynes and Jarvis Green, Clemson has one of the fastest and deepest running back rooms in the country.