CLEMSON — Clemson football's defense understands its performance against the run last season was unacceptable.
How could Tiger players forget? Even their coaches remind them.
"Coach (Dabo) Swinney reminds us constantly every day, and it just really gives us a chip on our shoulder every practice, the drills and the team sessions," Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown said.
Clemson ranked 84th in run defense (160.6 yards) last season, continuing its downward trend over the past three years. It allowed more than 200 yards rushing in five games, and in each of its four losses, it gave up at least six yards per carry, including in its first round College Football Playoff loss to Texas.
To alleviate its run defense problems woes for 2025, Clemson added Purdue transfer defensive lineman Will Heldt from the portal, signed five-star defensive tackle signee Amare Adams and retained key contributors, including Brown, defensive tackle Peter Woods, defensive end T.J. Parker and linebacker Wade Woodaz.
The biggest addition was the hiring of Tom Allen to replace Wes Goodwin as defensive coordinator. Swinney hopes Allen, who helped Penn State have a top-10 run defense last season, is the missing key to propel its defense in 2025. He will show how Clemson's defense has developed Saturday during its annual Orange vs. White spring game at Memorial Stadium (1 p.m. ET).
Coming to Clemson, Allen identified poor tackling, gap vision and edge integrity among the many issues that plague the Tigers' rush defense.
"The numbers don't lie," Allen said. "If you watch the film, the film doesn't lie, and it became a recurring theme each week."
