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Clemson Freshman Already Earning Comparisons to Program Legend

The Clemson Tigers might just have their next great ball carrier on the roster this season, and he's only a true freshman.

Jacob Moss

Clemson running back Gideon Davidson (9) catches a kickoff near offensive run game coach C.J. Spiller during the football practice at the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. Monday, March 3, 2025.
Clemson running back Gideon Davidson (9) catches a kickoff near offensive run game coach C.J. Spiller during the football practice at the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. Monday, March 3, 2025. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Clemson Tigers' football program is currently in the middle of their spring practice slate, and several key position battles are starting to take shape.

Among these is the open running back slot, which was left vacant with the departure of Phil Mafah following the Tigers' College Football Playoff exit last season at the hands of the Texas Longhorns.

With Mafah off to the NFL Draft, finding a suitable replacement to take over the starting tailback spot is one of Clemson's top prioritys heading into summer.

The presumption heading into spring was that one of the more seasoned backs would slide into the now vacant starting role, with redshirt freshman David Eziomume and redshirt junior Keith Adams Jr. being the leading canidates to win the battle.

What pretty much nobody expected, however, was for true freshman Gideon Davidson to come in and immediately look like the best running back on the roster. As spring rolls on though, this appears to be looking more and more like the case.

Davidson, who was the fourth best running back recruit in the 2025 cycle per On3, has been making some serious noise since stepping foot on campus in January as an early enrollee.

The former four-star recruit had already earned high praises from the Tigers' head coach Dabo Swinney at the beggining of spring workouts, and since then the praise has only continued to grow.

Davidson has even been garnering some comparisons to Clemson's all-time leading rusher, and current Jacksonville Jaguar Travis Etienne. This high praise came from Davidson's backfield teammate, the aforementioned Eziomume, in a recent post-practice interview with Clemson insider Grayson Mann.

Any time a freshman comes in and immediately starts getting compared to an all-time school legend, there's normally some skepticism. When it comes from players and coaches though, then there tends to be at least some merit to be found in the claims.

It's clear that so far Davidson has not only greatly impressed his coaches, but his teammates as well. It's also clear that he appears to have a good head on his shoulders, and genuinely loves to compete.

It might be a bit early to start expecting Davidson to come out and have the kind of impact that Etienne had during his time at Clemson, but the way things are trending it looks like he could certainly be starting day one which is a massive achievement in it's own right.

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Jacob Moss
JACOB MOSS

Georgia native and avid Atlanta sports fan who has lived in the Charlotte area for the past eight years. Got started writing about sports for my middle school paper and haven’t stopped since. Graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and proud 49er. Passionate sports writer who has covered everything from high school soccer to the NFL for several prominent outlets including the Charlotte Observer, ESPN, and the Carolina Panthers. Also covered the South Carolina Gamecocks football program as the lead beat writer for Last Word on College Football, and was a contributing writer for several other notable online publications such as Yardbarker. Lives and breathes sports and will watch whatever is on or in season. Favorite teams include the Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and Georgia Bulldogs. Massive Jordan Speith and Rory McIlroy fan on the PGA Tour

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