There was a time when Terry Allen walked into a class everyone in the room knew who he was. He was Terry Allen after all – the star running back for the nationally ranked Clemson Tigers.

In his three years as a Tiger, Allen rushed for more yards—2,778 yards to be exact—than any other running back after three years in Clemson history. He helped Clemson win back-to-back ACC Championships in 1987 and 1988, and then beat a top 5 Florida State team in 1989.

But that was 26 years ago. These days when Allen walks into a classroom at Clemson University, he is just another face in the crowd. No one knows who he is until he is asked to stand up and give his name.

“These kids were not even born when I was playing,” Allen said on Tuesday.

It was quite humbling for Allen, who played 11 years in the NFL for five different teams. But that’s okay with the Georgia native. He did not return to Clemson to be recognized or sign autographs. He returned to get the degree he started more than two decades ago when he opted to leave college after his junior year to pursue his career in the NFL.

“I made a promise to my mother that I would finish my degree. It was important to me that I come back and do that,” Allen said.

Allen says his mother is still in good health so he is not rushing to get his degree, though he is taking 15 credit hours this semester.

“I have kept every promise that I have made to her,” he said.

Terry Allen rushed for 2,778 yards in his three-year career at Clemson. He ranks seventh all-time on Clemson’s rushing list. (photos courtesy Clemson Athletics / Allen Randall

Of course that has made her proud to see her son come back and finish his education, but she is especially proud of the influence he is having on the young people he is surrounded by each and every day.

“Not only for the fact she knows I’m back in school, but she gets to see me with the orange on again,” Allen said smiling.

Allen, who ranks seventh on Clemson’s all-time rushing list, wears orange just about every day as a volunteer assistant coach on Dabo Swinney’s football staff. He helps, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach, Tony Elliott coach the running backs.

“To have the opportunity to work with the football team was the icing on the cake,” Allen said. “To be able to come back and give to these young men; to better understand what is expected of them, not only to be an athlete but to be a student athlete.

When Allen played for Clemson from 1987-’89, the Tigers went 30-6, which included bowl victories over Oklahoma, Penn State and West Virginia. The Tigers were one of the premiere teams in the country and were winning ACC Championships and ranked in the top 10 just about every year.

Does that sound familiar?

Allen says there are a few similarities in the program Danny Ford ran back when he was a player and the one Swinney runs today.

“It is night and day, but the thing is both programs won. That is the similarity,” Allen said. “We were a very, very physical and disciplined team. Coach Swinney has the discipline. Coach Ford created men and Dabo Swinney creates whole men. He creates that kid that is out in the community working. Coach Ford expected us to do the right things. Dabo makes sure that these kids are doing the right things.

“He has people lined up in front of them to give them direction. There is nothing that these kids lack. If these kids don’t get it while they are here, they work in order not to do it. It is so easy to get it done while you are here.”

And Allen is hoping to make it easier for the running backs. Though he says it has been difficult to pull back and try not to go so fast.

“I don’t have any control over what goes on out there on the field. I will see things, but I have to understand and realize they don’t see things the way I see them,” he said. “Some of the things that I do, they can’t. So it is hard for me to sometimes dial it down and understand that he has to grow to get where I was.

“Once upon a time, I was that guy who could not make that cut or see that read. I just try to give them little things to help them pick it up earlier.”

Allen really enjoys coaching under Elliott; a guy he is says is extremely smart.

“I’m probably learning more from him then he is from me,” the former Clemson great said. “Obviously, I played the position so there are some things I know about being a running back that he does not, but Tony is so smart and he is a student of the position himself.”

When he earns his degree, which should be in the next year and a half, Allen hopes to continue his career in coaching whether that is at a place like Clemson, in the NFL or high school.

“It is so fulfilling for me to be able to go out and speak something into these young men and then to see it come true. I really enjoy that,” he said. “To know a lot of times we look at our lives as professional athletes and we take it for granted just because we are doing it. We don’t understand how we impact those who want to do what we are doing.

“Now I see the impact I can make on people, these young athletes and I want to be able to get them to understand that, ‘Yes! You should want to play professional football, but that should not be your only goal in life.”