Clemson Tigers' Most Disappointing Player is Too Obvious

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The Clemson Tigers have won two games in a row to semi-rebound from a brutal 51-10 loss at the hands of LSU in Week 1.

Clemson still has a long way to go, but it's clear that things are trending in a positive direction for the Tigers.

That much was evident during Clemson's 28-20 comeback win over North Carolina on Saturday, where Tait Reynolds won his first career start at quarterback and running back Gideon Davidson had a breakout performance.

But there is one Clemson player who has yet to really get going in 2026: Chris Johnson Jr.

When the Tigers bagged Johnson in the transfer portal over the winter, the move was generally lauded by everyone.

The speedy weapon showed tremendous promise at SMU last season, rushing for 479 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry as the Mustangs' secondary back. He also caught 17 passes for 180 yards and a score.

So when Johnson entered his senior campaign with Clemson, much was expected from the Fort Lauderdale, Fl. native, who actually began his collegiate career at Miami.

However, Johnson has been very limited thus far, having carried the ball just 12 times for 53 yards through three games.

In fact, all 53 of those yards came against Georgia Southern in Week 2, when Johnson toted the rock seven times for an average of 7.6 yards per touch.

You can do the elementary math: Johnson had zero yards against both LSU and UNC, and he received just two attempts in Week 3.

It seems pretty clear that Davidson has established himself as the featured back for Clemson, and while that does not come as much of a surprise, you would have figured that Johnson would make somewhat of an impact and challenge for touches.

Now, it should be noted that Johnson did make an imprint on special teams Saturday, returning four kicks for 87 yards. But his impact as a rusher was non-existent.

We'll see if things change for Johnson moving forward, but there is no doubt that he has been the Tigers' most disappointing offensive player thus far in 2026. Unless, of course, you count quarterback Christopher Vizzina, who was benched after two games.

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