Clemson Football Head Coach Raves About Their Two Freshmen in Spring Practice

The Clemson Tigers football team is in the middle of spring practice currently, and a number of recent early enrollees are getting their first taste of what it means to play for one of the nation’s top programs.

Two of these recent additions have already caught the attention of the Tigers long-time head coach Dabo Swinney and could find themselves making an immediate impact come fall.

Per Derrian Carter of the Greenville News, Swinney was asked which of his players have stood out the most so far in the spring period.

Surprisingly, the first two names he mentioned were a pair of true freshmen.

Gideon Davidson, who was ranked as the fourth-best running back in the 2025 cycle per On3, was the first to receive Swinney’s praises. He enters camp with the potential to step into an immediate starting role due to the departure of Phil Mafah to the NFL.

The dynamic runner has impressed Clemson’s staff early on, with Swinney saying he looks like he’s been in college for far longer than he actually has.

“He’s physically impressive, further along than I thought he would be coming in,” Swinney said. “He looks like a kid that’s been in college about three years. Really smooth athlete, a lot of confidence, fast. He’s done a nice job picking things up well.”

Along with Davidson, the Tigers have also been thoroughly impressed with five-star defensive tackle Amare Adams. The in-state product was the highest-rated member of Clemson’s 2025 class, and has already been showing why.

Since stepping foot on campus, Adams has put his pedigree on full display, drawing incredibly high praise from his new head coach in the process.

“He’s come in here as a freshman and does not look like a freshman and just doesn’t play like a freshman,” Swinney said. “There are times when he does, but there’s times when it’s like, ‘Wow, that guy is really different.'”

With teams having to deal with so much roster turnover from season-to-season due to the transfer portal, top programs are relying more than ever on freshmen to come in and be immediate contributors.

Clemson is no different in this regard, and it sounds like Davidson and Adams are well on their way to playing prominent roles in 2025 for the Tigers.

If these early reviews from Swinney are any indication, then Clemson will be in very good hands.