Davion Gause, Soph., RB

5-foot-11, 215 pounds

Davion Gause is fast, that was established long ago. Now, he’s really fast.

So fast that Gause got the nickname “Bullet” before he reached first grade.

“I got it when I was five playing football,” Gause said.

Gause’s coach at the time gave it to him because he was so fast and was already dominating. He was a stud when half the kids on the field probably went the wrong way when the ball was snapped.

Not Gause. Not then and not now, as he’s primed to step into the RB1 role at North Carolina. The last man to occupy that slot was Omarion Hampton, and he was a first round NFL Draft pick in April. In fact, four of the last five feature backs at UNC have made it to the NFL. Perhaps Gause is next.

But he must produce in a key role for the Tar Heels this season and as a junior, as he has two years he must play before sniffing the next level.

Yet, as fast as Gause is, it didn’t help him much in adapting to major college football last season. His process was to learn, embrace, and move forward.

“I had to get used to the speed,” he said. “But, as camp went on, I felt like I was college ready,” said Gause. “I just stayed consistent, kept my head down, and kept working.”

Starring at Chaminade Madonna in the Miami area, his club was loaded with Division One players. They cruised to a state title and somewhat trained like a college team. So, he wasn’t far from being ready when he arrived. But the speed of the game, as he said, took some time. But Gause was ready for the challenge.

“He’s really cool, he’s mature, he’s tough. He is not emotional at all. We’ve seen that in the spring, we’ve seen it every day in practice,” then-UNC Coach Mack Brown said. “When you put him in a situation, he looks like an older player.”

Still a sophomore, Gause will be in a situation this season. A big situation.

As we are doing all spring and summer, here is a dive into Gause’s numbers:

2024 Stats:

*13 games, 164 snaps, 67 runs for 326 yards, 4 TDs, 17 first downs, 7 runs of 15+ yards, 12 runs of 10+ yards, 239 yards after contact, 5 targets with 5 catches for 45 yards.

Career Stats:

*1 season. See above stats.

2025 Outlook:

If Gause isn’t Carolina starting running back, he will be quite involved with the offense. He can do a lot of things with the ball, and short tosses from the QB might be a bigger part of his game this fall than it would have under the previous regime. He could break out!