The disappointing performance by the Clemson defense will always loom over the 2024 season. As great as it was for the Tigers to get back to the playoff for the first time since 2020, you can’t help but feel there was a deeper run in that squad if the defense played better.
With a better run defense, specifically, Clemson would have found more success in 2024.
Giving up 1,000 yards rushing in the final four games of the season typically does not lead to much success. The Tigers gave up 288 rushing yards to the Citadel, 267 rushing yards to South Carolina, 154 rushing yards to SMU, and 292 rushing yards to Texas. If Clemson wants to win a national championship this season, those numbers have to drastically improve.
New defensive coordinator Tom Allen understands things must change.
Fixing the run defense was Allen’s No. 1 goal when he was hired by Dabo Swinney. Allen at Clemson media days let it be known how the defense will get better at stopping the run. He said it takes great run fits, better tackling, and relentless effort. Those three things were not consistently done by the Clemson defense last season.
Many of the Tigers' run fits last season were unexplainably poor. At times, the tackling by the defense was even worse. By the end of the season, even in big games, there was a lack of effort to finish plays. Those are things Allen made sure he would fix coming into Clemson, especially the effort piece.
Allen put it best at Clemson media days, saying, “Every player controls his effort… That needs to be our strength. How hard we play, how physical we are, how fundamentally sound we are in everything we do from tackling, to gap fits, to execution of what we do is very critical to me.”
Improving tackling, run fits, and overall defensive performance starts with the effort each player gives. Defensive football is more about effort than anything. That effort will both bring out the best abilities in a player and the defense while also covering up the mistakes.
For example, great effort in practice will fix the run fits with lots of repetition at game speed. Also, in a game, even if a player misses a tackle being in the correct run fit, if all 11 guys are sprinting to the ball, it will prevent the ball carrier from getting much further from that initial contact. Every player on the defensive depth chart playing with full effort every time they’re on the field will breed the competition that Allen is looking for.
A popular saying in sports is that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Clemson has the talent and the leadership with the right mindset. If that talent works hard, giving full effort in everything they do, the things this team can achieve are limitless.