Practice Insider: Tom Allen doesn’t need a mic, Tristan Smith with a good day
CLEMSON – It was a cloudy, cold, and windy day on the grounds of Clemson’s facilities. For the most part, the wind drowned out the noise of the players and the staff.
Almost everyone.
As new defensive coordinator Tom Allen took to the field, there was a desperate attempt to get him a functioning microphone, so he could address the defense without traveling from spot to spot.
He didn’t need it.
One of the fields was locked down for consistent rotations for the position groups of the defense, giving Allen room to operate.
Like we wrote on Friday, he rotates around the defense and takes in every detail. That also happened to be one of his key words reiterated to the players. In the periods we observed, it was a technical day for tackling, with each step being closely watched.
He consistently rotated between positions, throwing a compliment Caden Story’s way. One rep it might be Shelton Lewis, on another Will Heldt was the subject of his praise. Not sticking to one group, he seamlessly flowed through the drills, able to provide additional insight when needed.
Allen’s goal seemed to be to stress control in each tackle, which eluded Clemson in 2024 while reinforcing the technique that comes with it.
It seemed like Allen had an hourglass filled with sand in his brain, and when one side was full, he proclaimed that Clemson would be the best tackling team in the country.
“That’s the standard,” exclaimed Allen. “Every single rep!”
One who was reaching the same decibel level as Allen happened to be Ben Boulware, who was able to relay the message when players reached his drill. Another item that’s worth noting is how connected the instruction seems to be under Allen’s leadership.
Wade Woodaz explained that Allen’s early message to the defense was that this unit would get much better in the run game and better as tacklers. It seems that has stayed consistent early on through the first few practices.
*Wide receiver Tristan Smith – the transfer – is finding his way. He is much sharper in his routes, caught everything threw his way, and looks like he belongs. On one out route, he turned on a dime and caught a call thrown by Cade Klubnik long before he went into his break. The ball was on time and Smith made the catch with ease before turning upfield.
*A few recruits of note were on hand and drew special attention from offensive line coach Matt Luke. Adam Guthrie is a 2026 tackle prospect out of Washington Court House (OH) Miami Trace who has offers from the major players, including Clemson, Ohio St., Penn St., Miami, Penn St., Oklahoma and a bevy of others. He’s here for the big junior day weekend, and he’s in early with his family. That includes his older brother Andrew, who is a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman (6-8, 305) at Campbell.
Dalton Toothman is a 2026 OL prospect out of Ocean Springs (MS) Vancleave. He has some prominent offers – LSU, Ole Miss, and Auburn – and was with his father.
*Phil Mafah was at practice – I asked him if he had rested yet and got a smile – and he told me he won’t work out at Pro Day here at Clemson because he’s still recovering from shoulder surgery. He will work out later.
*Mafah made his way out onto the field and spent time with freshman running back Gideon Davidson, and it was good to see Davidson paying attention to every word. Also, Davidson continues to impress in our limited viewing windows. He’s just smooth with that extra gear.
*Walk-on kicker Quinn Castner suffered a broken leg after being hut by a truck last October – is back practice and he looks fully recovered from the accident. A sleeve on that leg is the only way you can tell he had an injury.
