Former Clemson defender believes Tom Allen is "home run hire"

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Clemson's expected next defensive coordinator hire is already receiving substantially positive reviews.

When it comes to the reports of Tom Allen coming to Clemson, Elijah Rodgers carries a unique perspective.

Rodgers holds the best of both worlds when it comes to Allen. The likely new coordinator was initially the leading man at Indiana, where Rodgers began his collegiate career before spending two seasons at Clemson.

Allen was Indiana's head coach from 2017-2023 before being let go, and he then landed a defensive coordinator role with Penn State, leading a top-ten defense to the College Football Playoff.

Now Allen is primed to succeed Wes Goodwin as Clemson’s leader on the defensive side, how might that look? Rodgers knows a good coach when he sees one.

Having spent time with Dabo Swinney, Brent Venables, and Allen, the former Indiana and Clemson corner might have an idea of what that looks like.

Rodgers is confident that Swinney has quite the coach joining his staff. When he saw the reported news, his first thoughts were his excitement for the fans and players, believing Allen can immediately connect with both.

"Man, I'm excited,” Rodgers said. “I'm excited more so for the fans. I'm extremely excited for the players man. I think the players are going to really buy into who Coach Allen is and his passion and everything he brings to the game of football on and off the field for the guys.”

Swinney likes to hire those who best fit the culture he has cultivated over the years. Rodgers believes that Allen is a mirror image of Swinney.

The former Hoosier and Tiger saw both in action, and the way both men operate made it easy for the corner to draw the comparison.

“He just brings so much passion, man,” Rodgers said. “He reminds me of a lot of Coach Swinney. Honestly. He's a big man of faith. He's a defensive-minded guy, so this is a home run hire for us if we do land him. He is a big man of faith, brings some intensity, and loves his guys. I think, especially in today's world of college ball, you want to be able to play for a guy who truly loves you, and he's not just trying to use you for the game and turn you loose once you graduate. In that sense, in the perspective of a player that's going to be special to those guys, they will know that Coach Allen has their back, and he loves them.”

The comparisons did not stop there.

Rodgers also saw another impressive coach in his collegiate tenure. In 2021, he was beginning his career at Clemson as a walk-on and was on site for the final year with Brent Venables leading the Tiger defense.

Regarding the X’s and O’s, Rodgers believes Venables and Allen hold plenty of similarities in how they operate the defense.

“I think, schematically, he's an aggressive guy,” Rodgers told TigerNet. “He is a little bit like Coach Venables, honestly, and I thought back to my time with him (Allen) in 2018, we took a bunch of three-star guys, and I think with that class, they had a year where they finished top 10 in the country. I think about that, and then I look at the talent level that he's going to be able to have with Clemson. You can imagine what he's going to be able to do with the guys that are returning and the production that he'll be able to get out of those guys if he was able to take a group in Indiana that year to a top-10 team.”

He believes Allen has the tools to connect with the community, and that connection could lead to a transformation of a defense that’s lacked a punch for years.

“Fans will fall in love with this dude's passion, man,” Rodgers said. “I truly mean that. Guys want a coach that they’ll wanna run through a brick wall for. Coach Allen is that guy.”

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