Which Clemson players have caught Tom Allen’s eye early on?

The Tigers’ new defensive coordinator met with the media this past Wednesday and was asked who has surprised or stood out to him so far this spring.

Allen pointed to several players, including transfer defensive end Will Heldt.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound junior transferred to Clemson after two productive seasons at Purdue, where he played against Allen’s teams when he coached at Indiana and Penn State.

Allen says Heldt has made huge strides from his freshman season to now.

“I would say Will Heldt, to me, his growth in the last few years has been impressive,” Allen said. “We played against him when I was at both Indiana and then at Penn State, and his growth from his freshman year to last year was extensive, I feel like. Even from then until now, he just continues to develop. … Physically, seeing him in person, that’s impressed me, which is an awesome thing.”

Another player who has stuck out to Allen is junior safety Khalil Barnes, a 2023 freshman All-American who has recorded 101 tackles (5.5 for loss), 11 pass breakups, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles, a sack and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown in 27 games over his first two seasons at Clemson.

Allen has been pleasantly surprised by the speed he’s seen from Barnes.

“I think probably the biggest one that might stick out to me is I do feel like that Khalil Barnes is a guy that I know he has had success in the past. But he’s a lot faster than I thought he was,” Allen said. “There was some burst on film. Watching him, I’m like, I don’t know if I even saw that, even during the season this past year. That’s exciting to me.”

Junior defensive back Ronan Hanafin has gotten Allen’s attention as well.

A former wide receiver, Hanafin enters the 2025 season having played 130 snaps from scrimmage (41 on offense, 89 on defense) over 25 career games, in addition to his role as a key special teams player.

The versatile Hanafin made the transition from wide receiver to defensive back late in fall camp last year.

“He really hasn’t played a lot in the safeties position. But he has flashed to me, like wow, this guy’s got something special,” Allen said. “He’s got length and athleticism. In fact, I had to go back and really watch special teams to get a chance to really see him play in games. He played just a little bit on defense last year. So, that’s been a pleasant surprise. That’s a guy we need to be able to step up.”

Allen also mentioned junior defensive end T.J. Parker, who followed up a freshman All-American selection in 2023 with a strong sophomore campaign last season.

A second-team All-ACC selection, Parker finished the 2024 season with six forced fumbles, setting the Clemson record for forced fumbles in a single season. Last season, he was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 10 nationally in forced fumbles (six, T-2nd), tackles for loss (19.5, 5th) and sacks (11.0, 9th).

Parker is obviously a special player, and Allen already knew that. But it’s Parker’s “practice habits” that Allen said he’s been particularly impressed by.

“You can be a guy that plays well on game day. But man, I want to see a guy that brings it every day when nobody’s around,” Allen said. “The work ethic on the weekends, and I’m just big in, what are you doing extra? If you just do what you’re supposed to do, yeah, that’s good, but it’s not enough. So, I want guys that do extra, and T.J. Parker to me has stuck out as that kind of guy.”