The hiring of Tom Allen as Clemson’s new defensive coordinator is already having an impact on the recruiting trail.

Allen, who was hired away from Penn State, was introduced as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator last week. A few days later, one of the Nittany Lions’ top defensive targets was on campus at Clemson.

4-star Kaden Gebhardt (Olentangy, Lewis Center, Ohio) visited over the weekend, leaving with an offer in hand. However, the fact that the blue-chip talent was on campus just after the hiring of Allen was nothing more than a happy coincidence.

Safeties coach Mickey Conn reached out to Gebhardt about two weeks ago and the visit was set up before the news of Allen joining the staff.

“I didn’t even know about Coach Allen taking that spot,” Gebhardt told The Clemson Insider. “It was perfect timing.”

As for the visit, Gebhardt was only able to spend a couple of hours on campus. At the same time, he was able to accomplish a lot in that short amount of time.

“It went great,” Gebhardt said. “It was my first time there. So just learning a little bit about Clemson. Only being there for a couple of hours, I know it’s a special place.”

“We toured the facilities. We got to spend time with Coach Swinney, Coach Conn and Coach Allen. Just checking out basically everything about Clemson. I just loved it. It’s always been a school that I really wanted to get an opportunity to play for. I liked to watch them while I was little.”

From afar, Gebhardt has long admired the coaching staff Dabo Swinney has in place and the addition of Allen can only help the Tigers’ cause.

Allen was the coach that handed out Gebhardt’s Penn State offer last summer, and the two have developed quite a bond.

“Just the coaching staff,” he said. “I already had a great relationship with Coach Allen at Penn State. He’s actually the one that offered me at Penn State. So I have a great relationship with him, Coach Conn, I love Coach Conn. He’s the one that reached out to me. Then we set up that visit to come down. I made sure to get down there as quickly as possible, that’s for sure. And then Coach Swinney. He’s a great dude and a great coach. You can’t get much better than that.”

On top of his relationship with Allen, Gebhardt also loves the vision Clemson’s new defensive coordinator has for how he might fit into his scheme as a hybrid-nickel.

“His philosophy on defense really stands out,” Gebhardt added. “I like the way he runs his defense and how he wants me to play in it. Kind of in that Tiger spot. I think it just fits me really good, to be honest. Then, he’s a person I can trust and that means a lot to me. I have a great relationship with him already, and that also means a lot.”

Leaving town with an offer was the icing on the cake.

“To be honest, it was a great feeling,’ said Gebhardt. “It was probably one of the best feelings from getting an offer that I’ve had in this process. It was just awesome.”

Gebhardt is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 215 overall prospect in the country, No. 17 safety nationally and the eighth-best prospect in the state of Ohio for the 2026 class.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder holds more than two dozen Division I offers, including Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Southern Cal, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

However, it’s Clemson, Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, West Virginia and Indiana that are the schools Gebhardt said are currently recruiting him the hardest and those are the programs he said are in his top group.

Despite Allen no longer being on staff at Penn State, the Nittany Lions are still a major player in his recruitment. Gebhardt plans to visit Happy Valley on Jan. 25. He will also visit Wisconsin and Indiana over the next couple of weeks.

While nothing is set in stone just yet, Gebhardt also plans to get back to Clemson in March. Possibly even more than once. He is eyeing the Elite Retreat on March 8 as a possible date. After that, it could be decision time for the highly-touted prospect.

“I don’t want to be one that waits my recruitment out too long,” he said. “So I can see it being in March, to be honest with you.”

While Clemson is fairly new to his recruitment, Swinney’s program absolutely appears to check all the boxes in what he’s looking for in a school.

“Coaches I can trust,” Gebhardt said. “A scheme that fits me well. And the relationships. I am big on relationships. That will actually play a big role in where I go.”

Photo courtesy of Kaden Gebhardt (@kaden_gebhardt) on X (formerly Twitter)