Last question of the interview before Tom Allen had to leave I asked him a simple yet brutal question,”If you were able to build a perfect Tom Allen certified player what traits would this player have.”
He was not here to give me a short and sweet answer. He got straight to the point the way a Clemson coach should.
Without missing a beat, he dove straight into the heart of it. True to his roots as a coach with a pedigree from Ole Miss, Arkansas State, University of South Florida, Indiana, Penn State, and now Clemson, I was expecting a solid answer. What I got was something far greater—an answer that encapsulated the essence of what drives him and his coaching philosophy.
He didn’t hesitate to paint the picture of his ideal player:
Tom Allen
“He has unbelievable passion. A young man who believes that if he does the small things right, he’ll be an unbelievable player. It’s all about doing the little things when no one is watching. Are they willing to fight? Are they willing to do the work, even when the spotlight’s not on them?”
Allen continued, emphasizing his unwavering belief in the importance of relentless effort. “I’m going to see who’s doing each lift, who’s putting in that extra work, who’s committed to every detail. You can’t fake that. If a player doesn’t respond to criticism the right way, we address it. They need to fight and fight and fight and fight, regardless of how tough it gets or what kind of feedback they’re getting.”
His commitment to shaping not just athletes, but strong men, was equally evident. “I gave each coach two of the books Relentless. It’s about building resilience, staying driven, and pushing past limits. But more than that, I want them to be better husbands, fathers—be the men they were created to be.”
In those few moments, Coach Allen’s answer gave me more than I could have asked for. It wasn’t just about the physical traits or the Xs and Os of football. It was about a mindset, an ethos, a relentless pursuit of excellence—both on and off the field.
