Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2018 35 2018 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE DERRIK ALLEN SAFETY 6-2 · 215 LASSITER H.S. MARIETTA, GA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 135 11 14 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 82 5 11 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 161 12 17 STATISTICS • Registered 54 tackles (three for loss), three interceptions and seven passes broken up in eight games as a senior, before missing the final two games of the season due to a hand injury. Added 14 receptions for 191 yards and four scores as a wide receiver, and averaged 32.0 yards on 14 kick returns. • Notched 37 tackles, two interceptions, a sack, two forced fumbles and seven passes broken up as a junior. HONORS • Tabbed as an All-American by the U.S. Army and Tom Lemming as a senior, and also earned first-team Junior All-America accolades from CBS Sports in 2016. • Named to the USA Today 2017 All-USA Georgia first team as a defensive back. • Listed as a second-team defensive back on the 7A (largest classification) all-state team by the Georgia Sports Writers Association as a junior and senior. • Selected as the Cobb County Touchdown Club Defensive Back of the Year in 2017. • Listed as a five-star member of the PrepStar Top 300 Dream Team, and was ranked as the No. 11 cornerback and No. 48 overall player in the class of 2018. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Played in the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio on Jan. 6, 2018, but did not record any statistics. • Was chosen to participate in the Nike Football's The Opening Finals in Beaverton, Ore., June 28- July 3, 2017. • Competed in the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in Indianapolis on June 9-10, 2017. • Participated in Nike Football's The Opening Regional in Atlanta on March 26, 2017. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Feb. 13, 2017, over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU, Auburn, Michigan, Miami (Fla.) and Penn State, among many others. • Lone official visit was to Notre Dame on Sept. 9, 2017, when the Irish took on Georgia. • Made two unofficial visits to Notre Dame, the first coming in March 2016 for Junior Day and then again on Sept. 16, 2016, when the Irish played Michigan State. • Recruited primarily by cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght. NOTABLE • Born on May 11, 2000. • Was part of the FBU (Football University) na- tional championship team as an eighth grader. • Ran track from the age of 8 until he was 15 • His father, Derrik Allen Sr., played basketball at Army West Point, where he was a team captain in 1993. • His mother, Chinita Allen, graduated from Columbia University and was a 2015-16 Presi- dential Award for Excellence in Science and Math nominee. • Plans to major in computer engineering. 2018 PROJECTION • Allen's combination of size, athleticism and talent will make him hard to keep off the field in 2018. THEY SAID IT Head coach Brian Kelly: "He was the first guy that we saw that had the ability to cover man-to- man, play the ball in the air and get the ball down on the ground with his size. "That was the trait that we had to have in this class. It was a must, must, must. It was underlined like five times. We have to find this player." Safeties coach Terry Joseph: "I'm excited to see this guy on the field because he can do anything he wants to do. He can change direction and cover like a corner, but he's big enough to play safety. "In the deep part of the field, he can play from numbers to numbers. … If he came down in the box, he's physical enough to play and get off blocks. As a blitzer, he can get back there and sack the quarterback. … This guy has a bright future ahead of him." BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell: "To begin to understand what makes Allen such an outstand- ing prospect, one has to look at his non-physical traits. He is an incredibly bright young man, and it carries over onto the football field. He is highly instinctive, which helps him be a highly disruptive football player. "Allen is a quality athlete that spent the first three years of his high school career playing cor- nerback. He is smooth and makes easy movements on the football field. His balance is outstanding, and he has great feet. "His corner skills translate well to the safety position, where he has top-flight cover ability. This should allow Allen to develop into a playmaker against the pass at the next level. " on and off the field. But his parents will continue to encourage him and push him. Once he leaves for Notre Dame this summer, his mother al- ready has made him one promise. "My mom said if she sees a slight drop in my grades she's going to get an apartment up there," Allen said. "She was very serious. She has al- ready started looking at apartments." Allen appreciates the job his par- ents did the first 17 years of his life and understands he is leaving home with the tools to be just as successful at Notre Dame as he was at Lassiter. Nearing the end of the conversa- tion that led to this story, Allen was asked a simple question. What would you take more pride in when you are done at Notre Dame in four years: being an All-American for your work on the field or being an All-American for your work in the classroom. "Definitely Academic All-Ameri- can," he said without thinking twice. ✦ Allen has been groomed by his parents — Chinita and Derrik Sr. — to be successful since he was young, but not always in the way one would expect. PHOTO BY ED TURLINGTON