When RJ Godfrey returned to the hardwood of Littlejohn Coliseum for Clemson’s season opener against New Hampshire, it didn’t feel like a second chance for the senior — it felt like home.
A key piece of Clemson’s 2024 Elite Eight run as a sophomore, Godfrey returned from a season in Athens, Georgia, looking like a different player with a new level of poise and play on the court.
Starting off the 2025 season, Godfrey is averaging 11 points, 7.5 rebounds, three assists and a steal through two starts, showcasing the kind of potential Clemson head coach Brad Brownell has long believed he could bring out.
But it didn’t always come this easily for Godfrey.
The 6-foot-7 power forward arrived at Clemson as a three-star recruit in 2022 and saw limited action as a freshman, averaging under 10 minutes per game.
However, by the end of his sophomore season, Godfrey had become a fan favorite and the Tigers’ ultimate glue guy.
Through 36 games as a sophomore, Godfrey averaged six points and three rebounds with impactful defense while logging only 15 minutes per contest. He also knocked down crucial late-game free throws against Baylor in the round of 32, helping the Tigers reach the Sweet 16 on their way to their first Elite Eight appearance since 1980.
While his numbers weren’t eye-popping, the stat sheet doesn’t always tell the whole story. Godfrey’s gradually increasing role and production on the court gave a lot of watchers hope for the coming years.
But shockingly, he decided to enter his name into the transfer portal after the program’s historic season. Godfrey’s transfer was a business decision, according to Brownell, considering his playing time and possible profits from name, image and likeness deals.
“I knew that he loved his Clemson experience,” Brownell said. “He wasn’t leaving because of anything that happened at Clemson. It was more so other things that maybe people had gotten into his head.”
Godfrey committed to Georgia within weeks of the announcement, but soon realized he had made the wrong decision.
“I was like, ‘Man, what did I just do?'” Godfrey said at the 2025 ACC Tipoff, recalling a phone call he made to a former Clemson teammate after his first practice with the Bulldogs.
There was nothing specifically wrong with Georgia and his new beginnings. He started all 33 games and played more minutes in one of the NCAA’s most prominent conferences, the SEC, but it just wasn’t the same as his time at Clemson with Brownell.
“I think coach Brownell, just his philosophy has helped me just in life,” Godfrey explained. “On a personal level, I’ve … tried to adopt like a soldier mentality. That’s kind of what he … puts on us, the model of grit, doing things when it’s hard, doing things when we don’t want to, doing things when you’re not in the best mental or physical spot. Just fighting through adversity.”
“It’s something that I took for granted my first two years here, and then when things got hard at my last place, that’s kind of what I tried to have my backbone on … I think coach Brownell has been an awesome leader in my life, not only on the court, but also off the court. He’s gotten me so much better in so many aspects outside of basketball, and I wanted to feel that again. You know, when I got the opportunity to go back, I was like, ‘Man, I can’t pass that up. I cannot pass that up.’”
When the transfer portal opened following the end of last season, it didn’t take long for Godfrey to make his move and declare his name back into the portal. He was now regarded as a four-star transfer prospect.
The moment the chance to return to Clemson surfaced, he knew exactly where he wanted to be. There was no second-guessing, no long recruitment process like the first time. It was just a pullback to the place that had always felt like home for the Georgia native.
“Second time, (Brownell) didn’t really have to recruit me,” Godfrey voiced. “He already knew the interest I had for the program and everything. I mean, I wanted to come back and not only play for him, but play for the Clemson fans. Like he said, there’s something in these hills that makes you want to fall in love, not with only just the players and the coaches here, but the people. The people here are so awesome. I love being a Clemson student-athlete before anything. I’m just so grateful I had the opportunity to come back and play for the orange and purple again and put on for Clemson.”
Now, the senior forward looks to take the Tigers back to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. For Godfrey, the return isn’t about starting over; it’s about finishing what he began and coming back to the place and people he loves.
Through every step of his journey, one thing has become clear: Godfrey truly embodies what it means to be a Clemson Tiger.
