My Combine Mission: Bring Back Marcus Allen
INDIANAPOLIS 无毛视频� There are degrees and meanings of these meetings we hear about between prospects and teams at the NFL Combine.
Damon Webb, for instance, is a late-round, under-the-radar free safety from Ohio State who met with the Steelers无毛视频� position coach, Tom Bradley, for an 无毛视频渋nformal.无毛视频�
But Justin Reid, the silky smooth center fielder from Stanford, younger brother of NFL free safety Eric Reid, had a 无毛视频渇ormal无毛视频� sitdown with Mike Tomlin.
Ronnie Harrison, the hard-hitting strong safety who learned to play free safety with national champion Alabama, had both, an informal meeting with an assistant coach before he was scheduled to sit down formally Sunday night with the head coach.
Jessie Bates, the fast, physical and smart free safety at Wake Forest, he also had a formal meeting scheduled.
With Tomlin?
无毛视频淭he owner, the GM, all of them,无毛视频� said Bates. And he wasn无毛视频檛 trying to sound cocky.
Clearly, and without doubt, the Steelers are looking at free safeties. There are several others to discuss at a later time. However, I was sent on a mission to come home with a strong safety 无毛视频� specifically the strong safety from Penn State, Marcus Allen.
Why Marcus Allen?
无毛视频淲hen he comes here you无毛视频檒l find out,无毛视频� Penn State receiver DaeSean Hamilton told me on Friday.
无毛视频淢arcus, he无毛视频檚 a big ball of energy. I love Marcus. He has a smile on his face all the time. He always has a lot of energy and he无毛视频檚 always bringing it. He has fun with all of us, with every teammate, everyone in the locker room. He无毛视频檚 one of the most vocal and outgoing people on the team.无毛视频�
Funny, I had just run into the great Rod Woodson here and he said that what he wants to see most out of the DBs in their workouts on Monday is how the Power 5 guys interact with the guys who went to lesser athletic programs.
无毛视频淭eam unity is soooo important in the league,无毛视频� Woodson said.
The Steelers have a guy like that in Maurkice Pouncey, I told Woodson.
无毛视频淢aybe they need one on defense,无毛视频� he said.
But it wasn无毛视频檛 Woodson who ordered me to bring back Marcus Allen 无毛视频� or 无毛视频淐hico Hendrix,无毛视频� as he无毛视频檚 known to the cool kids.
无毛视频淐hico. Chico Hendrix,无毛视频� repeated Penn State linebacker Jason Cabinda. 无毛视频淏ig social media guy. I无毛视频檓 not sure where it originated, but that无毛视频檚 what we call Marcus. The kids know.无毛视频�
And that无毛视频檚 what I无毛视频檓 getting at. While watching Allen rock foe after foe with a striking ability that无毛视频檚 more solid and sure than anything we无毛视频檝e watched this past season from the Steelers, my daughter asked if I was watching the famous Marcus Allen.
No, I told her. That guy retired a long time ago.
无毛视频淣o,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淢arcus Allen, the guy on social media who plays in college. He无毛视频檚 hilarious. If he could be on JuJu无毛视频檚 team, that would be so awesome.无毛视频�
Yeah, the bring-Marcus-to-Pittsburgh directive came from my teenage daughter.
无毛视频淥h, that无毛视频檚 cool,无毛视频� Allen said Sunday after I relayed the story. 无毛视频淭hat would be real cool. Anywhere, any team that takes a chance on me, it无毛视频檚 going to be a blessing. But, JuJu, he无毛视频檚 definitely a cool guy.无毛视频�
Has Allen heard from the Steelers?
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e heard from a lot of teams,无毛视频� he said.
Allen might be a personality, but he无毛视频檚 clearly a businessman. Some of these guys don无毛视频檛 tell reporters their meeting plans, per the teams无毛视频� requests. Few prospects honor those requests, though, because they无毛视频檙e only human and they无毛视频檙e excited and at this point in their nascent NFL careers they think they should probably answer to the media.
Allen无毛视频檚 too savvy for that. After all, he无毛视频檚 going into broadcast journalism after football with his Penn State degree.
But he does have Pittsburgh ties. A lot of them. He works out near his home in Maryland with Sean Davis. And, Allen无毛视频檚 father was born in Homewood, grew up as a close childhood friend of Curtis Martin, who became Allen无毛视频檚 godfather.
And Malik Golden, Allen无毛视频檚 safety-mate at Penn State for three years, is with the Steelers.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 my boy,无毛视频� Allen said.
Why is he your boy?
无毛视频淲e played on the same team at Penn State,无毛视频� Allen said with a look that kind of identified me as being among the unhip.
Dang it.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 my MAN,无毛视频� Allen clarified. 无毛视频淎nybody at Penn State (is my boy). I get along with everybody. But me and Malik, we have a bond as well. We talk to each other. I无毛视频檓 a loving guy.无毛视频�
I told Allen that he might not love me after my next question.
无毛视频淎-ite,无毛视频� he said, ready to be tested.
One interception in your four-year career as a safety. Why only one interception?
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 like to make excuses,无毛视频� Allen said, 无毛视频渟o I无毛视频檓 just going to say I had one interception in my career. That无毛视频檚 something that I definitely want to work on. And, that无毛视频檚 that.无毛视频�
Are teams talking to you as a linebacker type?
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e talked to a lot of teams about safety,无毛视频� said the 6-2, 215-pounder. 无毛视频淏ut if that无毛视频檚 what they look at me as, I have no problem. Right now I无毛视频檓 here doing DB drills.无毛视频�
Allen went on to explain that he hopes to show teams he无毛视频檚 more than a box safety. That无毛视频檚 how he was used at Penn State and might explain his dearth of interceptions.
It also might explain his 328 tackles, which ranks fifth in the tradition-rich annals of Penn State football. He was the team无毛视频檚 无毛视频渆nforcer because I无毛视频檓 physical,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淏ut I can play in the deep end. I can play half. I can play middle third. I can cover. Those are things I can do and I can showcase my talents here at the Combine, me opening up my hips, all that good stuff.无毛视频�
Allen made the turning-point play of the post-Paterno Penn State era in 2016 by blocking a 45-yard field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter that would无毛视频檝e given Ohio State a seven-point lead.
Allen blocked the kick and teammate Grant Haley returned it 60 yards to reverse the score. It sent the Nittany Lions on their way to the 2016 Big Ten Championship and marked a significant turnaround for a program that had lost nine games in the two years (2012-13) after Paterno left and before Allen arrived.
A second post-Paterno coach came in with Allen in 2014, and Penn State lost six more games in James Franklin无毛视频檚 first year and six more in his second. The magic, it appeared, was leaving State College.
And then Allen blocked the kick.
无毛视频淏ut this isn无毛视频檛 about me,无毛视频� Allen said from the podium Sunday. 无毛视频淲inning that game is what meant a lot for me. It put the whole team, the whole Penn State organization, back on the map.无毛视频�
无毛视频淢e, Christian Campbell, Grant Haley, Troy Apke, we all came in at the same time, at a time when Penn State was at its lowest point,无毛视频� Allen said of the departing secondary. 无毛视频淲e all stuck together and made sure that we were going to work hard and get Penn State back on the map. And it无毛视频檚 crazy that we really saw where it was to where it is, and we无毛视频檙e a big part of that.无毛视频�
Want to know what crazy is? Me covering Apke无毛视频檚 dad when he played at Pitt back in the 1980s, and now trying to find out for my daughter if the next great social media star of the NFL will be coming to Pittsburgh.
Of course, Allen would do more than just star with JuJu Smith-Schuster in social media. He would join a team that appears to be looking for a free safety with ball skills, but really needs a striker who can tackle 无毛视频� consistently, reliably and without prejudice. And no college safety I watched this past season strikes the rising blow the way this seemingly cordial young man from Penn State does.
无毛视频淚 appreciate that,无毛视频� Allen said. 无毛视频淚 definitely take a lot of pride in that. That无毛视频檚 something I thrive on. Anytime I get a good hit, I无毛视频檓 going to get juiced up.无毛视频�
That无毛视频檚 what big hits do. They juice up the player, the team, and, frankly, the stadium.
But Allen looks like way too nice of a guy to be juicing up NFL stadiums.
无毛视频淚 know. I know,无毛视频� he said with a gigantic smile. 无毛视频淎 lot of people say that. It无毛视频檚 cool, though, because it changes once I go out on the field.无毛视频�