CLEMSON – Defensive back Ronan Hanafin’s career at Clemson has been marked by changes.

The first change came off the field, when the 6-foot-3 athlete arrived in South Carolina after spending his first 18 years in Burlington, Mass. The first obvious differences he noticed 960 miles from home were the rich southern accents and, of course, the warm hospitality, which he says is a “real thing.”

“Not that people up there are ‘massholes’… but you’re walking by down the street and someone will say ‘Hi’ in Boston they’ll just brush you off, but here you’ll start a whole conversation with them,” the rising junior said.

The only thing warmer than the southern hospitality in Clemson may be the temperature. For Hanafin, the change was extreme. The former No. 13 overall athlete in the country played his last high school football game in 27-degree weather.

Less than a year later, he saw his first snaps in a Clemson uniform in 82-degree weather in the Tigers’ home opener in early September against Charleston Southern.

Despite being recruited by schools like Alabama, Georgia, and Notre Dame as a linebacker after notching 64 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions, and a sack in 2021, Hanafin chose Clemson, where head coach Dabo Swinney told him he could play as a wide receiver.

“It was harder for me to evaluate him as a receiver, but the one thing I believe in is you let a kid play what he wants to play,” Swinney said.

The former four-star recruit and No. 4 player in Massachusetts lived his offensive dreams in his freshman year, but served mainly on special teams, where Swinney called him the “MVP.”

Last August, ahead of his sophomore season, it was time for another change.

Swinney, his staff, and Hanafin decided to shift the sophomore to defense ahead of the 2024 season. Though he learned the defensive schemes and worked with the defensive coaches for the first time after spring practice and summer camp, he still contributed 13 tackles in 89 snaps over 14 games and continued his role as special teams MVP, foregoing a redshirt season.

Hanafin was settling into his role as a safety under the leadership of veterans R.J. Mickens, Tyler Venables, and Khalil Barnes, when Clemson sent one more change his way in the offseason, bringing in a new defensive coordinator — former Indiana head coach and Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen.

Despite another curveball, Hanafin believes Allen has actually served as a grounding agent for him and his teammates, on and off the field.

On the field, Allen is holding the team accountable, requiring up-down exercises for every sloppy mistake. Conversely, he is “bringing the energy,” tackling and headbutting players in celebration.

Off the field, Allen gifted different books to his players, based on their personalities and needs. Hanafin shared that his coach gifted him a daily devotional by former NFL safety and coach Tony Dungy to encourage him in his faith.

“It’s been awesome just to get (the book) from him,” Hanafin said. “That’s different. Not every coach cares about the outside of football stuff like he does. I think he truly cares about how we’re developing our faith as a man and obviously it’s football too, but those other aspects are huge.”

Hanafin and the Tigers will have the chance to share their success and development under Coach Allen this Saturday, as Clemson hosts its annual Spring Game at Memorial Stadium at 1 p.m.

Hanafin and Allen both have the opportunity to show that change can be a good thing, especially in football.