CLEMSON — Clemson football’s defense lost in the annual spring game Saturday at Memorial Stadium, but its play from its first-team unit pleased coach Dabo Swinney.
The starting defense was without cornerbacks Ashton Hampton and Jeadyn Lukus and defensive tackles DeMonte Capehart and Stephiylan Green because of injuries. Swinney and his staff limited defensive end T.J. Parker and defensive tackle Peter Woods’ snaps and placed cornerback Avieon Terrell and safety Khalil Barnes in “non-tackle” jerseys.
Despite these limitations, Clemson’s first-team defense stifled quarterback Cade Klubnik and the starting offense, generating an interception and holding it to two field-goal attempts, no touchdowns.
“That was really good to see,” Swinney said. “… That’s an area that we have to be better at this year is red zone defense. When you win on red zone defense, you hold them to a field goal.”
Clemson was tied for 51st in FBS in red-zone defense last season. It is among the fixes Swinney is asking of defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who was hired from Penn State after the Nittany Lions finished with the No. 5 red-zone defense in 2024.
Allen has injected energy and enthusiasm into Clemson’s defense this spring. His emphasis on the fundamentals, especially tackling, and simplifying the game so players don’t overthink has been huge for its players.
“He talks about tackling every sentence when he talks about defense,” Barnes said. “Putting the focus on everything and just us honing in. Instead of what to do, just how to tackle and getting back to the fundamentals, it’s been good for us.”
Allen’s energy has even trickled down to some of the depth players who made huge plays Saturday. Cornerback Branden Strozier, who started opposite of Terrell, recorded two pass breakups. Defensive tackle Hevin Brown-Shuler logged a tackle for loss,…
Source link : https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2025/04/05/clemson-football-defense-dabo-swinney-spring-game/82707680007/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-04-05 22:15:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
