How Clemson’s Revamped Defense is Coming Together

After a disappointing 2025 campaign, Clemson decided it was time to hit the transfer portal harder than it has before. This was especially true for the defensive side of the ball. Tom Allen made sure to revamp his unit by bringing in players who better fit the system he wants to run. Eight of Clemson’s 10 transfers were defensive players. Allen brought in talent for all three levels of his unit. Now, with the Spring game approaching this weekend, these players have had the chance to begin showing what kind of difference they can make.

How Is Clemson Revamping Its Defense?

Improved Secondary

Spring camp is a great time to get a first glimpse into how your team will look come the fall. One of the best parts of this time of year is seeing who the standout players are in those 15 practices, who will potentially be key players in the regular season. Clemson has a few players on the defense who’ve stuck out to both coaches and reporters. The biggest playmaker on the defense this Spring is said to be Penn State transfer Elliot Washington II. This does not come as much of a surprise since Washington spent some time in Allen’s system while both were Nittany Lions. Now they’re back together as Tigers, and Washington is proving to be the boost the defensive back group needed. Allen said in his press conference Monday night that Washington has made plays in every practice this Spring. Washington will be a key piece in raising the level of play in the Clemson defense secondary, along with transfer safeties Jerome Carter and Corey Myrick. Allen spoke glowingly of his two new veteran safeties, calling them “low rep guys”. This is because both Carter and Myrick have high football IQs and are extremely coachable. These are two very important traits to have in a safety.  They need to be seen as the coaches on the field in the back end, and both Carter and Myrick seem right for the task. Allen also mentioned that true freshman safety Polo Anderson has made quite the impression with his athleticism and physicality. Veteran safety Ronan Hanafin was also mentioned as someone who’s made significant strides in his development. Carter, Myrick, Anderson, and Hanafin, as a group, make the coaching staff feel more confident in the safety position than they did a year ago.

Developing Linebacker Core

One of the biggest questions for the beginning of the 2026 season for the Tigers is who will start next to junior linebacker Sammy Brown. The answer seemed clear when Clemson acquired former Cal linebacker Luke Ferrelli out of the transfer portal. However, that situation turned sour. Allen seems to believe that the fiasco was a blessing in disguise, though. Allen feels that everything that happened in January lit a fire under some of the guys in the linebacker room. That led many of them to make huge leaps in their development. Allen is confident he has three guys in Brown, Kobe McCloud, and Jeremiah Alexander who can be starters. Along with that group is another pack of guys trying to work their way into the two-deep. That pack of players includes names like CJ Kubah-Taylor, Fletcher Cothran, Logan Anderson, and Drew Woodaz. All of these players have been on the roster for at least two years and are said to have made significant progress this offseason. If one of these guys can separate themselves from the pack, Allen will have the ideal number of four linebackers he can rotate through each week.

Figuring Out the Front

The biggest challenge that Allen has had this Spring is figuring out the defensive line. Losing two potential first-round NFL draft picks makes this a tough task. The edges shouldn’t be much of a concern with the return of Will Heldt and Jaheim Lawson. Bringing in transfers CJ Wesley and London Merritt gives them a couple of solid rotation players as well. It’s said that both transfers have had productive Springs, with Wesley bringing more speed and Merritt adding more power. The question marks come from the interior of the defensive front. It is very rare for the Tigers not to have at least one star defensive tackle who can be highlighted this time of year. Injuries have much to do with the lack of clarity at the position. Amare Adams was supposed to be on the verge of a breakout year, but he hasn’t participated much this Spring. West Georgia transfer Kourtney Kelly was supposed to be a big part of the interior’s depth, but he suffered a torn ACL a few weeks ago. On the bright side, Oklahoma transfer Markus Strong has made an impact this Spring. His heavy hands and ability to shift the line of scrimmage quickly have impressed the defensive staff. Vic Burley is a player many have had their eye on to take the next steps in his development. According to Allen, he is improving, but he still wants to see more from Burley, especially as a leader. That goes for the group as a whole, though. Allen really wants to see the defensive line start to elevate going into fall camp. As players get healthy, though, this defensive front should start to come along. The addition of JuCo transfer Andy Burburija will also be a great addition to the rotation.

Scrimmage Dominance

What really begins to sell the improvements this revamped defense made are the reports of the unit’s dominance in the first scrimmage inside Memorial Stadium. According to Dabo Swinney in his press conference following the scrimmage, the defense gave the offense plenty of issues. Swinney’s sentiments suggest the defense is much further along in its preparations for the fall than the offense. However, that is to be expected. Clemson has a new offensive coordinator who is still trying to solidify who his starting quarterback is for 2026. So if the defense looked anything less than impressive in the first scrimmage, there would be major issues. We won’t truly know how good this defense will be until they line up against LSU in week one of the regular season. However, all signs point in the right direction for Allen so far, suggesting his defense will be much better.