After enrolling at Clemson last summer, and then suffering a foot injury one week before the start of fall camp, freshman tight end Davis Allen thought the 2019 season might end up being a redshirt year for him.
“It went through my mind I guess,” Allen said this week. “You’ve got to wait for the foot to heal or whatever, so it definitely went through my mind. But all I was really focused was just trying to get the foot better and just learn mentally as much as I could while I couldn’t do anything really physically. But as much as I could mentally helped my chances. That’s what I did.”
Not only has Allen overcome the injury to avoid a redshirt, but he has appeared in all 10 of Clemson’s games so far this season while earning more extensive playing time in the second half. After not logging more than 16 snaps in any of the first five contests, the Calhoun, Georgia native has been on the field for at least 21 snaps in each of the last five games.
Although Allen has not been a Tiger for long, he is very pleased with how his time at Clemson has gone to this point.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” he said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity. I’m just thankful to be here, really, much less just play. But it’s been everything I imagined and more.”
Allen’s emergence as a dependable option at tight end has been big for Clemson, which entered the season in need of depth at the position due to Braden Galloway being suspended by the NCAA, Garrett Williams retiring from football, and Milan Richard and Cannon Smith both moving on after graduation.
Allen made his collegiate debut against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29 before gaining 10 yards on his first career reception at Syracuse two weeks later. He added a 10-yard catch at Louisville on Oct. 19 and then recorded a 7-yard reception against Boston College the following week.
The 15th-best tight end-H Back in the nation by ESPN coming out of Calhoun (Ga.) High School, Allen credits guys like Williams, fellow tight ends J.C. Chalk and Luke Price, and tight ends coach Danny Pearman for helping him get up to speed with what is the hardest position to learn on offense besides quarterback.
“It’s been a challenge,” Allen said. “There’s just so much that goes into it, a lot of information you’ve got to know. But J.C. and Luke have really helped me out with just trying to learn it as best as I can. Garrett Williams helped me out as well, and just getting extra work with Coach Pearman has really helped a lot, too.”
Allen committed to Clemson on June 10, 2018, just a few days after receiving an offer from the Tigers at the Dabo Swinney Camp.
For Allen, it was Swinney and the coaching staff that separated Clemson from the other schools that offered him including Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Duke, Wake Forest and others.
“Definitely the coaches. They’re just real with you,” he said. “What you hear from Coach Swinney in the press conferences after games, that’s what you hear in the locker room when he’s talking to us. He keeps it real. What I noticed was they truly cared about you as a person more than a football player, which I liked. So, I’d say that’s definitely the biggest thing that brought me here.”
Allen’s family has attended all of Clemson’s games this season, both home and road, and Allen says they don’t plan to miss any.
His father, John, played football at Georgia but is a big Clemson fan now.
“Oh, for sure,” Allen said. “He’s All In.”
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