On or off the football field, Gideon Davidson has proven he can break through thorny situations.
As the premier running back for Liberty Christian Academy, Davidson has led his undefeated squad into its second straight Class 3 state championship game, piled up an eye-popping 2,168 yards and scored 37 touchdowns. It’s a feat made more remarkable by the fact that most opposing teams design their defenses to stop the elusive 6-foot, 205-pound dynamo.
His prowess on the field made him one of the top recruits in the nation, and he was courted by every major college program. He eventually signed with Clemson University in June 2023 and will begin classes there in January.
Before then, on Friday, he graduates early from LCA, will play for a state title Saturday and, on Monday, will travel to South Carolina to join the Tigers football team as it begins its playoff run against Texas.
“It’s kinda crazy,” Davidson said of the confluence of big events. “… I’m excited. It’s a great, great weekend.”
It’s a life-changing, whirlwind weekend that seemed improbable a little more than a decade ago when he and his brothers were adopted from famine-ravaged Ghana.
How Davidson wound up in Lynchburg and at LCA is full of as many twists and turns as one of his signature touchdown runs.
Davidson’s birth father died while his mother was pregnant with Gideon, and his mother and the six children moved in with their uncle, explained Brian Davidson, Gideon’s adoptive father. After about 18 months, the uncle was unable to care for the children and sent them to an orphanage in the country’s capital, Accra. After about a year, Gideon and two of his brothers were adopted by a family in the U.S.
That family found that they were in “over their heads” with the three boys, and that’s when Brian and his wife, Christine, stepped into the picture.
The two new “empty nesters” had already raised four children of their own when Christine heard about the plight of the three brothers.
Fearing they would be split up and sent to different foster families, the couple made the decision to adopt them.
Gideon Davidson at 5 1/2, around the time he was adopted. Courtesy of Brian Davidson.
“That was on a Friday [when Christine first heard of the situation],” said Brian, who has been involved in sports ministry for several years. “By Saturday, I had 101 reasons why that was a bad idea — all of them selfish. We talked to our biological kids and just thought it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but we love children and love helping others, so we said ‘yes’ on Sunday. Five days later they were in our home.”
That was Nov. 11, 2011 (11-11-11), and Josh, Colby and Gideon became the newest members of the Davidson clan. Gideon was 5 1/2 then, but it was about a year later that he began to take an interest in football, a sport practically unknown in his native Ghana.
“We were in Charlotte [N.C.] at the time we got them and moved to Lynchburg the next year,” Brian said. “My wife and I started the Charlotte Eagles soccer club, which is one of the longest-running soccer clubs in America right now. … So I was a big soccer guy. I had coached at that level, I played, I was an All-American, I was all soccer. Traveled to over 40 different countries doing projects for kids at risk through soccer. I was all soccer, zero football.
“I’m a sports guy, so I knew football, but I really didn’t follow football. Then one day at the table, the oldest, Josh, said, ‘Hey I would like to play American football.’ I told him no. I said this is a soccer family and you’re from Ghana and there’s nobody in the country of Ghana that plays football. So later that night, I felt like God convicted me, and I thought ‘Who am I to tell him he has to play soccer and can’t play football?!’ I was like, ‘You stupid dad. Let him
play whatever he wants to play.’
“The rest is history because Caleb and Gideon wanted to do what their big brother did.”
While both of his older brothers enjoyed some success on the football field (one went on to play at Indiana Wesleyan), it was Gideon who really excelled.
And people began noticing early.
“[Gideon’s] been here since the 2nd grade,” said LCA coach Frank Rocco. “And I remember going downstairs [at the school] to watch this phenom elementary school athlete. Our school is unique that it’s K through 12 and the high school is upstairs and the elementary is downstairs. So now, when Gideon goes downstairs to the cafeteria or gym, he’s like an NFL star to those younger kids. It’s been fun to have a guy like Gideon that’s so visible, and he’s such a quality young man and very humble. He represents our program and our school very well.”
Yes, he has.
Gideon has been a key component to the Bulldogs’ 27-game win streak, which they will put on the line Saturday at 1 p.m. against also-unbeaten Kettle Run in the Class 3 title game. The contest will be at Williams Stadium on Liberty University’s campus, a venue LCA knows
well.
Win or lose, the mark Davidson has left at the school will not soon disappear. He has won enough accolades and awards to fill two trophy rooms, including All-State, All-Region, and All-District honors as well as the Seminole District offensive player of the year three times. He was recently named a Navy All-American but will unlikely be able to play in the Jan. 11 contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio because he will be at Clemson.
Despite all that, he has stayed grounded and humble.
“I enjoy getting those awards, and stuff, but really our goal as a team is to win the district, the region and then the state,” he said. “It’s more rewarding when we get those things down than the individual awards.”
And he gives all the credit for his successes on and off the field to Brian and Christine.
“They’re the ones who raised me to be a Christ follower, first and foremost,” he said. “They’re the ones who looked at my life and saw the most important thing in my life and that was to become a Christ follower and glorify God in everything I do. And they really emphasize
family. It’s hard to explain, but they just really rally behind family and support them in anything they do. They’re just amazing.”
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