If you've been following Clemson football spring ball so far, you would know that the Tigers have some new faces on campus, including some in very important positions of leadership.
One of the most important newcomers of the offseason was defensive coordinator and former Indiana head coach Tom Allen who spent the 2024 season with Penn State coaching the defense. He helped the Nittany Lions get to the College Football Playoff but Clemson was able to poach him and the fit seems to be more than perfect.
Penn State had one of the best defenses in the country and Allen did a fantastic job. Now, he's joining a Clemson program that is desperate to get back to the top of college football.
If his contagious personality is a sign of things to come, it feels like Clemson just found the best possible defensive coordinator fit. Allen is the perfect mixture of being a player's coach, psychotic, and a faith-first coach. This is what Dabo Swinney needed by his side.
How does being psychotic make him a good fit? Well, he's already winning over players with wild gestures like tackling Corian Gipson earlier this spring after a good defensive play and he also head-butted linebacker Wade Woodaz earlier this week.
Just a wild move.
We heard earlier in spring ball that new Clemson DC Tom Allen tackled Corian Gipson after a pass breakup.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) March 29, 2025
A new one mentioned by Peter Woods today: Allen apparently head-butted linebacker Wade Woodaz. pic.twitter.com/n3Pq6td6ra
This is the type of energy that can revitalize a program and get an entire defense to buy back in. We're going to see a lot of emotion from Allen this season and the players love that.
Defensive coordinators are already a rare breed and require the perfect amount of craziness and Allen has that as well as an A+ personality. He is the right man for the job and we're seeing that first-person this spring.