ESPN Releases Grade for Clemson DC Tom Allen's First Four Performances

While the Clemson Tigers are 1-3, there's been promise for the team's new defensive coordinator to bring back the defense of old.

Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen has had his ups and downs as the Tigers' new coordinator thus far. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the opening four games of the season, there have been plenty of new coordinators on various teams who have made an impact in college football. Defensive coordinator for the Clemson Tigers, Tom Allen, has been one of those coaches. 

Allen joined Clemson from Penn State in the same position last season, expected to bring the Tigers’ defense back to the top of college football, folloiwng in the footsteps of former defensive coordinator, Brent Venables. 

However, in an article by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, he gave Allen a C- grade when grading college football’s new coordinators for the 2025 season in the first five weeks of the season. 

The Clemson defense was looking to eliminate the underwhelming year that it had a season ago, ranking 42nd in points allowed and 85th in yards against the run in the country. Bringing in Allen had immediate impacts in the team’s first game against LSU, holding the fellow Tigers to only 17 points while only allowing three points in the first 26 minutes, which Rittenberg acknowledges. 

As the season has gone on, however, there have been more cracks in the armor that have been present over the course of the season. The Clemson defense was unable to hold off Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sept. 13 to pick up its second loss of the season, but Rittenberg acknowledges that the unit’s performance “wasn’t bad.”

However, in the team’s loss to Syracuse, the first half performance by the Tigers plummeted the grade to what it is today. Clemson gave up 24 first-half points to the Orange and allowed 433 total yards in the loss, allowing 154 yards on the ground through plays that included busted coverages and missed tackles. 

Standout players like T.J. Parker and Peter Woods haven’t been able to change the game single-handedly, which was something they were able to do numerous times in 2024. Allen will look to reactivate his standouts after the extended break. 

Rittenberg, as well as the general consensus, has been the Clemson offense that has been the issue for the team’s 1-3 start. Slow starts have plagued the team, including only scoring 10 points against LSU at home while winning the turnover margin, something that Clemson has struggled with doing in recent years. 

Quarterback Cade Klubnik and the offense saw other slow starts against their other three opponents as well, putting the defense in a whole and limits the amount of complimentary football that the team plays, which head coach Dabo Swinney is a big advocator of doing. 

“Clemson's bigger problems seem to be with quarterback Cade Klubnik and the offense,” Rittenberg says, “but a defense filled with future NFL players needs a breakthrough soon.”

The Tigers will hope to be better prepared after their bye week this past weekend, facing the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium for the team’s third ACC game of the season. Allen will look to tighten up his unit to get back on track as the season continues.