Before coming to Clemson this year as the program’s new defensive coordinator, Tom Allen served as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State in 2024.  Along with helping lead the Nittany Lions to a school-record 13 wins and a College Football Playoff berth, Allen helped guide defensive end Abdul Carter to unanimous All-America honors –Penn State’s first time having a player earn that distinction since running back Saquon Barkley in 2017.

Carter thrived under Allen’s tutelage, tallying career highs in tackles (68), tackles for loss (24) and sacks (12) en route to being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and ultimately being selected by the New York Giants with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Now, star Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker is hoping to enjoy similar success under Allen during what figures to be Parker’s final year with the Tigers, as the 6-foot-3, 265-pounder is widely projected to be a top-five or top-10 pick in next year’s NFL Draft.

“Just like Abdul was able to have his best season of his career in his final year this past season, that’s what I expect T.J. to do this year,” Allen said this week during Clemson Football’s Media Outing at the Allen Reeves Football Complex.

Parker followed up a freshman All-American selection in 2023 with an outstanding sophomore season in 2024, when he blossomed into one of the country’s most dangerous pass rushers and earned second-team All-ACC honors after tallying 64 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and six forced fumbles. 

Allen sees a lot of the same qualities in Parker that he saw while coaching Carter a year ago.

“At the end of the day, it’s can you get to the quarterback? And obviously T.J. has shown the ability to do that in the past, and so that gets you a lot of excitement. And those guys [Parker and Carter] had similar numbers a year ago,” Allen said.

“I think [Parker] has a knack to be able to position himself – great use of his hands, great leverage on offensive blockers and tackles and whoever chooses to block him. I think that pops out to me. His relentless effort to get to the quarterback is another thing that sticks out on film. His work ethic, I just love how he works. Those are all key things that matter.”

Not only all of that, but Allen added that Parker’s “technique has continued to get better and better all the time.”

“He’s got a great coaching staff around him up front,” Allen said, “and a lot of NFL experience there to work with him and get him ready to play at the highest level.”

Last season, Parker was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 10 nationally in forced fumbles (tied for second), tackles for loss (fifth) and sacks (ninth). He set the Clemson record for forced fumbles in a single season while also finishing tied for second in the nation and tied for the national lead among power conference players in forced fumbles.

Parker’s tackles for loss and sacks totals were both the most by a Clemson player since Clelin Ferrell’s 19.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in 2018, while Parker’s 11 sacks rank ninth in a season in Clemson history.

A former top-50 national prospect from Alabama, Parker enters the 2025 season credited with 105 tackles (32.0 for loss), 16.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups over 27 career games (17 starts) in his two-year Tiger career thus far.

Allen is looking for Parker to perform well in fall camp and then carry that over into gamedays this fall.

“I think T.J. Parker works extremely hard. He needs to have a great training camp, like they all do,” Allen said. “Obviously, it’s like everybody else – it’s about what you do on gameday. He had a great campaign a year ago, and he’s got to be able to elevate his game and keep getting better, and that’s what I expect him to do.”

Parker landed at No. 9 overall in CBS Sports’ ranking of college football’s top 150 players, while Pro Football Focus ranked Parker at No. 10 among the top 50 players in college football ahead of the 2025 season. He was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the No. 3 returning edge defender, and he was ranked by ESPN as the second-best pass rusher for 2025.