Clemson's Defense Seeing Major Standouts From Supporting Cast

When watching the Clemson Tigers on the defensive side of the ball, you’ve probably seen the stops and interceptions that have come with it.

However, it’s not just standouts like T.J. Parker, Peter Woods and Sammy Brown. It’s the rest of the supporting cast that’s helping with important efforts.

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s philosophy has allowed players that weren’t expected to turn heads to become important pieces of this team by the second week. It’s the players that take advantage of their matchup due to the amount of talent on the field.

That’s where defensive end Will Heldt and safety Ricardo Jones come into the mix. Heldt had a sack in the win against Troy, as well in the loss against LSU, while Jones recorded his first interception against the Trojans. The sophomore recovered a fumble in the opening game as well.

Jones had one of the more interesting interceptions of the college football slate, recovering a bouncing ball that came off of the backside of cornerback Ashton Hampton, being able to record the takeaway.

“Coach Allen, ever since he got here, he just preaches effort,” Jones said. “Running to the ball, so when that ball went into the air, I’m running to it and I see my teammate make a play on it. It went off his behind and it’s a football play, and I just picked it up.

Along with effort, Allen has one important weekly goal for the unit every game: three takeaways on the defense. While there are others, many have honed in onto this philosophy, and the team did it against the Trojans last weekend.

“I think that’s a big momentum booster,” Heldt said. Three takeaways is always the goal because if you can get three, you can win most of your games from winning the turnover battles. I think that’s good for us moving into conference play.”

Another player that has continued to shine is safety Ronan Hanafin. The junior recorded his first interception as a Tiger last weekend against Troy, recording six tackles as well in the win.

The interception by the Burlington, Massachusetts, native put the nail in the coffin for the Trojans, raising confidence across the whole defense, including Heldt.

“That was pretty huge for morale and just the energy on the sideline. I feel like after that, we had that spark.”

Heldt’s continued production on the line has been loved by head coach Dabo Swinney, being one of his first ever players acquired through the transfer portal. From injuries to losing players through the transfer portal, Swinney needed a guy to aid that loaded defensive line, and his decision is paying off.

“He’s just a great player. We had to have a guy, and we needed a guy that could come right in,” Swinney said. He’s answered that call. I was happy for him to get a win. He’s done a great job for us.

Not only have the individual productions helped Clemson have confidence going into ACC play next weekend, but a 16-point comeback against the Trojans shows that the team can overcome adversity, even if it is in double-digits.

Jones has confidence in his defense, seeing all the actions that have been made since the team began the 2025 season back in January.

“I know what we got,” he said. “I’ve grinded with these boys since January, so I know what we’ve got on defense. Now, the world has got to see it.”