People who read LB Kobe King’s farewell address to Penn State football might have noticed something: he didn’t mention recently-departed defensive coordinator Tom Allen.
King thanked head coach James Franklin along with past defensive coordinators Brent Pry and Manny Diaz— who, like Allen, doubled as linebackers coach at Penn State— along with defensive analyst Dan Connor, who worked extensively with the linebackers in 2024.
But he didn’t mention Allen, and people are wondering why.
Thanked *almost* every one of his linebacker coaches/DCs. https://t.co/zGDg1wLjs8
— Sean Fitz (@SeanFitzOn3) January 14, 2025
Kobe King thanks all his linebacker coaches except Tom Allen. pic.twitter.com/qekoE4zrDq
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) January 15, 2025
Allen was only at Penn State for one of King’s four seasons, meaning Allen wasn’t there for 75% of King’s college career. So who knows how much of a bond they built or didn’t build during King’s time at Penn State.
WHAT KING SAID ABOUT ALLEN BEFORE
Kobe King leads the Nittany Lions defense out of the Lucas Oil Stadium tunnel ahead of warmups.
When asked about Allen during spring practice, King explained that Allen’s teaching method was different than Diaz’s.
“I would say we didn’t expect some of the aspects that were presented to us by him, I would say,” King said. “Just with it being… how can I make this more clear… Manny Diaz, he was a guy everyone just wanted to run through a wall for him…. Tom Allen, it just seems like he can get the defense to understand why we’re running through that wall. So I would say he’s bringing a different aspect from the whole defense and the whole team and he makes us develop the mental capacity to understand the value of the game and defense.”
“He emphasizes the mindset part. Just like, we feel what we feel, but you can’t approach a practice and meeting with certain feelings. You have to approach it with a certain mindset that will help you get through it. So, I would definitely say just him emphasizing how impactful having a strong mindset is has been very influential to us.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.ALLEN TO CLEMSON
Graphic by Clemson Athletics: Tom Allen
The day before King declared for the NFL Draft, word got out that Allen was leaving Penn State for Clemson.
Per a report by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, Allen is set to make $2 million annually over the next three seasons.
This is slightly more than he made at Penn State, where his salary was reported to be $1.5 million annually (starting salary) over three years.
Was the increased salary a big reason for Allen’s move to Clemson? Maybe. Maybe not. But Allen is making more money, and he specifically cited in his farewell address that family was another reason he decided to make the move to Clemson.
Penn State opens the 2025 season against Nevada Aug. 30 at Beaver Stadium.
