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USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
A true freshman the secret to life after Phil Mafah? Fox Sport thinks so
A true freshman the secret to life after Phil Mafah? Fox Sport thinks so The Tigers are returning the most production of any team in college football. But the one area where Clemson suffered the most after the 2024-25 season is at the running back position. Phil Mafah was a certified dog at tailback, but now he's a Dallas Cowboy after being selected 239th overall in the seventh round in the 2025 NFL draft. Behind Mafah's team-leading 1,115 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, only quarterback Cade Klubnik rushed for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. So, who can Dabo Swinney find to replace Mafah? Clemson football in 2025- Who replaces Phil Mafah? Most likely, the rushing production will be by committee. The leading running back behind Mafah was Jay Haynes, but he tore his ACL against SMU in the ACC Championship. He will most likely return by the start of the season, but at what capacity? That leaves Keith Adams Jr., David Eziomume, Jarvis Green, wideout-turned-RB Adam Randall, and finally, true freshman Gideon Davidson. And while Davidson might be a freshman, don't be surprised to see him as a major piece in the Tigers' rushing game next season. Randall started with the first-team offense in the spring game ahead of Davidson, but the early enrollee showcased his skills, too, especially in the passing game. Gideon Davidson a top 10 impact freshman With all the uncertainty at RB, Fox Sports college football and basketball writer Michael Cohen believes that's all Gideon needs to get his foot in the door. As an RB in high school, the 94-rated four-star (per 247Sports) eclipsed 1,000 all four years he played for the Liberty Christian Academy Bulldogs. In his final two seasons, he broke 2,000 yards, including an out-of-this-world junior campaign: 2,716 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 12.9 yards per carry. National recruiting analyst Brian Dohn had this to say about the Virginia native: "[Davidson is a] patient runner with vision and knows how to set up blocks. Quick feet with stop-start ability. Accelerates well through the hole. Has speed to finish runs. Best suited to run between tackles. Body control to make subtle cuts at second level. Difficult to arm tackle. Shows cut-back ability. instinctual runner can make defenders miss in hole. Solid pass catcher who lines up wide… Can be early contributor in high-level college program." Gideon is only one of two non-five-star recruits on Cohen's list. Defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart at USC is the other four-star. The rest of the list includes the No. 1 prospect from the 2025 class, Michiagan's five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, Oregon wide receiver Dakorian Moore, cornerback Devin Sanchez from Ohio State, offensive tackle David Sanders at Tennessee, Texas' WR Kaliq Lockett, CB from LSU DJ Pickett, Michigan OT Andrew Babaloa, and finally, Linkon Cure, a tight end at Kansas State.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ty Dillon Wishes NASCAR Would Be More 'Black and White' With Penalties
Earlier this week, NASCAR reported that Austin Cindric would be docked 50 points and $50,000 after right-hooking Ty Dillon in retaliation for being run off the track early on in the EchoPark 400 Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. This penalty sends Cindric and Team Penske's No. 2 team tumbling down the NASCAR Cup Standings from 11th to 35th, but the saving grace for that team is that Cindric is still allowed to race this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The two most recent penalties for similar right hooks saw the acting driver hit with a one-week suspension: first Bubba Wallace at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022 and then Chase Elliott at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR Director of Racing Communications Mike Forde says that the reason for a lesser penalty against Cindric was decided since this incident happened at a road course and not an oval, where the speeds are much higher. "In this case, we did feel that it was significantly different than the previous two," Forde said on NASCAR's Hauler Talk Podcast. "And the reasons are it is at a road course with lower speeds to begin with, and the results didn't even draw a caution flag. So those were really the reasons why we chose to err on the side of letting [Cindric] race this weekend in Phoenix with a fine and a significant driver points penalty." Ahead of racing at Phoenix, Dillon told reporters that he expected a suspension since it seemed like that was the status quo created by the Wallace and Elliott suspensions. "I was expecting a one-race suspension," Dillon told at track media. "I'm glad they did something, though. I think 50 points and $50,000 is probably enough to make him think about doing something like that again. But I think a one-race suspension is what most of us expected. They set a standard couple years ago." Dillon believes that NASCAR making the type of track the deciding differential is an instance of them deciding too many things in a gray area of their own making. "That's where maybe NASCAR gets themselves in a little bit of trouble, is when you try to play in gray areas of what's fast enough," Dillon answered Fox Sport's Bob Pockrass. [NASCAR] for the last eight years of my career do a safety meeting at Daytona and show us a picture of a car sitting dad sideways getting hit by one going 75 to a 100 mph and the amount of damage that does is pretty incredible so lucky nobody was very near the back I guess and nobody was coming and couldn't see me when I was dead stopped, parallel to the front stretch. Would that have been enough to get the penalty? I just think we have to [do] a better job of just making those calls black and white and setting a little bit better standard." Cindric admits that he made a bad call when faced with adversity and, coupled with a poor start to the season, reacted badly. When asked if he thought his penalty was fair, he said it wasn't up to him and that he would accept NASCAR's judgment call. "It's not on me to decide what penalties are or aren't; it's up to NASCAR," Cindric told media, including Pockrass. "The penalty I definitely have to accept and work hard to make it up from." "I got forced into the runoff, forced off track, and handled myself poorly in the face of adversity, and I was penalized for it," Cindric said. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
