Clemson Tigers Stock Report: Three Players Rising and Three Falling After Week 2

The Clemson Tigers got in the win column for the first time this season, taking down Georgia Southern at home 22-7 to begin their slate at Memorial Stadium in 2026.

It wasn’t a pretty win, with Clemson not scoring a touchdown in the final three quarters of the game, but we were able to learn a lot about head coach Dabo Swinney’s group without a blowout factor turning the game on its head. Now, the Tigers remain at home to face North Carolina to begin ACC play.

Before that begins, though, here are three players who improved their stocks this past weekend, as well as three who dropped theirs.

Stock Up: Nolan Hauser, Kicker

Hauser was obviously the best player on the team in Week 2, hitting five field goals to keep Clemson up two scores throughout the entire contest.

Clemson’s offense sputtered out frequently with true freshman Tait Reynolds in at quarterback, growing from learning experiences in his first extensive game behind center. However, he did get the Tigers across midfield enough for the junior kicker to bury more points for the team.

Hauser hit field goals from 20, 34, 38, 49 and 50 yards on Saturday night, continuing his perfect start to the season after hitting a long one against LSU in Week 1. Clemson’s special teams has come out firing, and its placekicker is a important reason why.

Stock Down: Ronan O’Connell, Guard

One thing was very apparent during Clemson’s second game of the season: the offensive line play in Week 1 was not a fluke.

Playing right guard, Ronan O’Connell has recorded a 49.1 PFF grade over the last two weeks, which hasn’t been the type of quality that Clemson needs to protect Reynolds, who will need more time to process plays behind center. The Tigers haven’t been effective running the ball either, either missing blocks or doubling linemen that don’t need to be blocked.

RG just has no clue. This is infuriating. pic.twitter.com/tfr4ysT0cN
— Woody’s Burner (@BurnerWoodyD) September 13, 2026

We did see true freshman Grant Wise get in at right guard at times, with O’Connell getting banged up on a play in the second half, but the junior needs to clean it up if he wants to remain a starter, especially against North Carolina.

Stock Up: T.J. Moore, Wide Receiver

Moore played like an All-ACC receiver on Saturday night, catching seven receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown.

70 of those yards came after the catch, showing off the open-field speed that included a 45-yard scamper from a Reynolds pass. It would eventually set up one of Hauser’s five field goals. Moore also caught a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter from Vizzina.

The junior has an important job for the next several weeks, being the safety blanket that Reynolds will have to rely on for a majority of the season. Moore has shown that he can do it in the past, and he will look to be the name to lead a loaded group for the Tigers heading into ACC play.

Stock Down: Gideon Davidson, Running Back

In a game where we expected the ground game to heat up after No. 11 LSU, Davidson didn’t seem that impressive compared to the rest of the room. While the offensive line could get some credit for the lack of success, the sophomore couldn’t get going on Saturday evening.

Davidson finished with 14 carries for 62 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. However, a third of those yards came on a 21-yard rush. If you take that carry away, it’s a yard less, but it wasn’t an impressive chunk of yards.

Another running back, Chris Johnson Jr., averaged 7.6 yards per carry on seven rushes, while Reynolds flashed some carries over the course of the contest too. In a matchup like Georgia Southern, though, the urgency to get the run game going simply wasn’t enough. Clemson needs to get that going before the quality comes in from the conference.

Davidson has to improve for the offense to become more balanced. I just didn’t see that in Week 2.

Stock Up: Will Heldt, Edge Rusher

Heldt was a powerhouse off the edge in the win, picking up his first two sacks of the season while adding three tackles for loss on Saturday night.

Clemson’s defensive line struggled to set the tone against LSU, and there could be an argument for that happening at times last weekend against the Eagles, too. Heldt changed that narrative pretty quickly, also hitting quarterback Max Johnson once after a throw.

The senior entered 2026 with expectations to be a high draft pick at the end of the season. Heldt played like one, and he will look to stack this game with North Carolina looming next week.

Stock Down: Collin Sadler, Tackle

Sadler played his first game of the season at home, but, like O’Connell, it wasn’t impressive.

Anybody who plays right tackle this season has big shoes to fill from four-year iron man Blake Miller, and Sadler didn’t look the part on Saturday night. On the first drive of the game, he was fed to the wolves, missing two consecutive blocks before making a wrong play again in the first quarter.

Again, it’s simple: Clemson’s offensive line has to improve. For position coach Matt Luke, the performance by the current line has everybody trending towards a level playing field, which includes several four-star freshman at various positions. We will see if Swinney sticks with experience over talent for the rest of the week.

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