How Gideon Davidson Can Impact Clemson’s Offense in 2026

The Clemson Tigers enter 2026 with uncertainty in the air. Chief among those areas of concern is the team’s offense.

After an underwhelming 2025 campaign that saw the unit average 27.2 points per game (the 3rd-fewest in Dabo Swinney’s tenure) and earn just seven wins, despite having experienced, highly-regarded personnel.

2026 appears to be a season that’s defined more by the unknown and potential. Running back Gideon Davidson is a perfect example of that. Here are some ways that the sophomore running back can contribute to the Tigers’ offense this season.

A Larger Role

During his freshman season, Davidson saw limited action throughout the season. Serving as the backup to senior Adam Randall, the Lynchburg product logged double-digit carries against both Duke and Florida State, but compiled only 260 yards on the ground for the season.

After Randall’s graduation, the role in the Clemson backfield is Davidson’s for the taking. He’s been competing with fellow sophomore David Eziomume and SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. for carries.

“Our running back group, it’s going to be the best in the country,” Davidson said after the spring game in March. We’ve got a lot of diversity, speed, and power. We’re all good running backs, and we’re going to be utilized well.”

Davidson was a highly-touted four-star prospect when he joined Clemson’s roster this past season. The explosiveness and above-average speed he displayed while running for over 11 yards per carry and 19 touchdowns in high school could easily transfer over to immediate production in a starting role for the Tigers.

A New Coordinator

New offensive coordinator Chad Morris has created an early theme before a snap has been made: running the football as an identity.

Though Davidson has been pegged as the No. 1 tailback heading into fall practice, it’s clear that Morris’ second tenure as Clemson’s offensive playcaller has different plans than Garrett Riley’s did for the past three seasons.

“He’s going to run the ball a lot, but he’s not going to [only] rely on one guy to do it,” Davidson said. That [is] very encouraging. It obviously opens up the passing game.”

“The same reasons that I hired [Morris] is the same as today,” Swinney said of the offense. “Our philosophies line up. We’ve got to run the football. When you can run the football, it makes your team tougher, and you can create some one-on-one matchups. [Morris] loves taking advantage of those things.”

With the robust list of playmakers Clemson possesses on the outside, don’t be surprised if Davidson can feed off of an increased role in a creative offense, all while having favorable numbers on nearly every snap in the run game.

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