CLEMSON — There is a reason why Tom Allen likes his two new safeties.
“They have played a lot of football,” Allen said in the spring.
What Jerome Carter III and Corey Myrick picked up so fast was Allen’s scheme.
“There are only so many coverages and concepts that you do, and they have done a lot of them already,” Allen said. “They may have called them something different, but their football IQ is really high, so I called them low rep guys. They do not have to do it much.”
Allen’s defense desperately needed low reps guys after last year’s debacle in the secondary.
Clemson’s passing defense ranked 11th in the ACC overall in 2025. The Tigers gave up 18 touchdowns and had just nine interceptions. The Tigers ranked near the bottom of the ACC in passing plays of 40, 50, 60 and 70 yards allowed.
After Richardo Jones and Khalil Barnes left to explore opportunities at other schools, Allen went to the transfer portal and brought back Carter and Myrick.
“Even though we have never coached either one of them before, you think we have by the way they have quickly adapted (to our defense),” Allen said.
Carter was All-Sun Belt player at Old Dominion. He was credited with 98 tackles (2.5 for loss), six interceptions and three pass breakups in his two seasons with the Monarchs. Last year, he registered 75 tackles and a school-record six interceptions, while starting 12 games.
Myrick tallied 95 tackles (4.5 for loss), four pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble at Southern Miss. He posted 92 tackles, third-most on Southern Miss’ squad, with 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 12 starts last season.
“They are great in the classroom, listening, learning and taking notes and picking things up,” Allen said. “You can always tell when a guy is picking things up because they are always asking a lot of questions. You can tell by the questions they ask because they are processing things and picking things up.
“They are good processers. They are students of the game. They are very passionate, they care. They invest a ton of time in it too, which is a big variable too. They pick things up quicker. I have been pleasantly surprised how quickly they pick up the things we are doing.”