CLEMSON – It was no secret what Clemson’s issues last season were on defense.

The Tigers struggled to stop the run, allowing 160.6 yards per game on the ground, the worst figure by a Clemson defense since 2011 – the year before Brent Venables became defensive coordinator.

Clemson also allowed 4.71 yards per carry, the worst per carry average since the 1975 team allowed 5.3 yards.

However, do not look for those numbers to be the same this coming season. Dabo Swinney went out and brought in former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen to turn things around.

 “His tone and everything is about tackling. Every sentence he talks about on defense,” safety Khalil Barnes said.  “We are honing in and just getting back to the fundamentals. That has been the big difference for us.”

Barnes says Allen has brought in a new level of focus on defense. He has stressed eliminating the mistakes by making things simple.

“The mistakes will eliminate themselves if we play fast and play hard,” Barnes said.

So far, the results are speaking for themselves. Though it was just a spring game, it was obvious how improved Clemson was when it came tackling.

The source to a lot of the Tigers’ problems last season can be traced back to tackling. It was a major issue in their losses to Louisville, South Carolina and Texas.

However, this past spring, players and coaches were seeing a noticeable difference in their tackling, which can be traced back to the fundamentals Allen installed at the beginning of practice.

“You are seeing a lot of guys starting to flash,” defensive end T.J. Parker said. “They are playing a lot faster. They are starting to learn a lot more lingo, so I think this (defense) is starting to come together.

“We were young this past year and we got so many guys coming back. I think we are ready to roll.”

Only time will tell just how much Allen has fixed the defense, but they will not have to wait too long to see how much. The Tigers open the season against LSU and Heisman Trophy candidate Garrett Nussmeier on Aug. 30.