Why Clemson's Tom Allen has been game planning for LaNorris Sellers since he was hired

CLEMSON — Clemson football defensive coordinator Tom Allen said when he was hired in January, one of his first tasks was looking over how the Tigers defended against South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

South Carolina beat Clemson 17-14 last season as the Gamecocks rushed for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Sellers, 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, was responsible for 166 of those yards and both scores, including the game-winning 20-yard touchdown, and forced 18 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

"It was a fresh wound, I guess that's probably the way to say it when I got here," Allen said Nov. 25. "Definitely something that we know we have to have an answer for."

The Tigers (6-5) eye revenge when they face South Carolina (4-7) on Nov. 29 (noon ET, SEC Network) at Williams-Brice Stadium. A win for Clemson ensures the Tigers avoid their worst regular-season finish since 2010 under coach Dabo Swinney when they were 6-6. A South Carolina win would avoid the Gamecocks' worst regular-season finish under coach Shane Beamer.

Allen said Swinney made it an emphasis to improve Clemson's run defense in the offseason and cited the South Carolina game as an example of the team playing poorly. The Tigers ranked 85th last season in run defense, allowing 160.6 yards per game and giving up over 200 yards in five games.

Swinney said the defense's performance against South Carolina and Sellers did not contribute much to his decision to fire former defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin. Still, the team's run-stopping woes were a major reason for his dismissal.

Clemson will get another shot at stopping Sellers, who has only 186 yards rushing this season and is averaging 1.4 yards per carry. Last year he averaged 4.1 yards per carry and had nearly 700 yards rushing.

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The Tigers' run defense has also improved, allowing 108.5 yards (24th in FBS) and giving up zero 200-yard rushing games. Despite Sellers' dip in production, Clemson coaches and players recognize Sellers' incredible athleticism and his ability to break out of tackles. There has been heightened emphasis on tackling and being disciplined for Week 14.

"Any time you have a player on the team you're about to play that can take a game over single-handedly with whatever skill set he has, then you better do a great job of being able to address that," Allen said.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson's Tom Allen prepared to stop LaNorris Sellers for nearly year