Willie Allen Transfers To Michigan
This one came out of nowhere:
#GoBlue 〽️ pic.twitter.com/Uze1d5j0nl
— Willie Allen (@willie_allen77) October 16, 2020
Allen missed the first two games of this season due to COVID complications and decided to grad transfer. He's a former LSU commit who was a top 200 player as a recruit and emerged into a potential NFL prospect after transferring to Lousiana Tech. He is also a sheer mountain of a man at 6'6", 343.
Allen is planning to enroll this spring; he has one year of eligibility left. Jalen Mayfield's departure for the NFL seems like a foregone conclusion so Allen would have a spot to slot into if he can beat out Karsen Barnhart and others.
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October 15th, 2020 at 9:03 PM ^
Sounds like a really nice addition. Love to see the B1G get stronger.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:08 PM ^
Don't patronize us.
October 16th, 2020 at 6:36 AM ^
I came to say the exact same thing!
October 16th, 2020 at 1:18 PM ^
Seriously, it's true. I was disappointed Micah Parsons stayed opted-out. I was glad to see Purdue & Minniesoda retain their top receivers. A stronger B1G makes a stronger B1G.
October 16th, 2020 at 9:19 PM ^
Is there a chance he is telling the truth?
October 19th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
why not? osu has nothing to fear from Michigan these days
the 1 great shot we had was 2016 and we had 3 TO's give them 14 & take 7 off the board for us.
what does he have to fear from hoping Michigan get's stronger?
October 15th, 2020 at 11:50 PM ^
what the
October 16th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
My mother's a hamster.
October 16th, 2020 at 1:16 PM ^
one must therefore presume that your father smelt of elderberries
October 16th, 2020 at 1:59 PM ^
A fair presumption. ;-) And I won't mention anyone farting in anyone else's general direction.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:09 PM ^
What an exciting addition to the 2021 recruiting class! It's hard not to feel really good about our offensive line moving forward.
October 16th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
don't worry - we'll find a way
October 15th, 2020 at 9:19 PM ^
Seems like a depth move more than anything else considering how much they love Barnhart. I guess he could be in play if Hayes has a monster year and jumps to the NFL after this year but that seems unlikely.
After Hayes and Mayfield, our tackle depth is made up of Barnhart, Trente Jones, Jeffrey Persi, and true freshman El-Hadi and Bounds. I think Persi, El-Hadi, and Bounds need more time on campus to bulk up/ get up to playing speed. So having Allen would be helpful to not have to rush Trente Jones on to the field or move Steuber over from guard.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:29 PM ^
I don’t think he’s coming here to sit. Scouts are saying he’s an NFL guy from what I have read.
October 15th, 2020 at 11:30 PM ^
Right. He's got one year left. Why come to UM to sit/backup your final year
October 16th, 2020 at 9:43 AM ^
You come to get a year of Ed Warinner coaching and to start a year of grad school at Michigan. Grad transfers for 2021 are a really good idea for Michigan. Anybody who was a senior this year does not count against your scholarship cap next year. And Michigan can offer a free year of graduate education, where their graduate programs are even more highly ranked than the undergraduate degree. This is a smart guy who ended up at Louisiana Tech because LSU blocked his transfer to TCU. He is finishing a degree in his original field of interest, which is criminal justice. One clue answer his Twitter profile shows you he is pretty serious about it but so far he's in higher education has been not far from his hometown of New Orleans. He's a guy who had to grow up very early and survived the 8-foot deep part of Hurricane Katrina. For a guy like that it's a no-brainer. If he doesn't start and the NFL doesn't want him, he is a second-year master's student at a top five graduate school with no debt. I would like to see Michigan trying to stuff as many of these guys into their class as possible.
October 16th, 2020 at 10:49 AM ^
so you're saying Newsome/Allen for president 2040?
October 15th, 2020 at 9:27 PM ^
Welcome to Michigan. If he turned into a Mike Danna-type grad transfer, that would be great.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:46 PM ^
Welcome aboard Willie!
October 15th, 2020 at 9:48 PM ^
6”6’? 343? I read that and was hoping DT, even if a little tall.
October 15th, 2020 at 10:04 PM ^
Same here! I didn't recognize the name and after seeing his size I immediately thought that he was a DT (NG). Obviously subconscious wishing!
October 15th, 2020 at 10:04 PM ^
Oops! The dreaded double post!!
October 16th, 2020 at 6:43 AM ^
I mean, "Willie Allen" is a DT name and he's 343. He's O-line?
How dare he. I feel betrayed.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:55 PM ^
What the what?
Random good things like this don't happen to Michigan. What's the catch?
October 15th, 2020 at 11:49 PM ^
Apparently, that he's bringing Covid-19 with him.
October 16th, 2020 at 6:59 AM ^
Can this Covid-19 play defensive tackle?
October 16th, 2020 at 9:00 AM ^
If there was ever a comment to sum up the 2020 Michigan football experience...
October 16th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
Or CB?
October 16th, 2020 at 7:37 PM ^
Yep. Billy Covid and he's gonna wear number 19.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:58 PM ^
This is a nice get.
October 15th, 2020 at 9:59 PM ^
a OL w/experience, size and talent will fit nicely into next year's OL
October 15th, 2020 at 10:34 PM ^
Damn really out of nowhere, insert him into a line with a year under its belt and either Milton or an elite freshman QB behind him and.......excitement
October 15th, 2020 at 10:50 PM ^
Welcome, Willie
October 15th, 2020 at 11:16 PM ^
I need a 343 nose tackle. This will do though.
October 15th, 2020 at 11:20 PM ^
Here's how old he is: In his recruiting class, the No. 1 player in the country was Rashan Gary. The No. 3 player in the country was Shea Patterson. Greg Little was No. 5. Ed Oliver was No. 7, Nick Bosa was No. 10.
And he's still a year away from joining our team. It's like we're getting a seasoned NFL veteran. We've become BYU!
October 16th, 2020 at 7:52 AM ^
Did Willie do a mission or something for a couple of years?
October 16th, 2020 at 8:15 AM ^
He went to JuCo after starting out at LSU
October 16th, 2020 at 9:35 AM ^
Here's how old he is: As a redshirt freshman he was traveling to and fro across Eriador with Tom Bombadil before the Númenóreans founded Arnor. Which, as you know, was eventually shut down for NCAA violations.
October 15th, 2020 at 11:46 PM ^
Big Willie Style!
October 16th, 2020 at 3:15 AM ^
HELL YEAH!
A transfer TO Michigan? That doesn't even happen on my PS3.
October 16th, 2020 at 7:38 AM ^
I don't know how the whole transfer portal thing works—has he actually been admitted to UM already, or is he simply assuming that's a done deal in advance?
October 16th, 2020 at 7:49 AM ^
Does this indicate we are less confident on our younger OTs in Jones & Keegan? You'd expect top 200 recruits to be ready to contribute in year three.
October 16th, 2020 at 9:40 PM ^
I'd guess it's more a matter of "You can never have enough depth." Injuries, transfers, NFL, ... You never know.
October 16th, 2020 at 8:13 AM ^
This is a very high quality transfer like Danna was. Great addition!
October 16th, 2020 at 8:47 AM ^
This is a great move for everyone. I imagine Allen took a look at high-profile programs, saw that there would be exactly one upperclassman tackle at Ed Warinner’s Michigan (where every senior starter last year went to the NFL) and thought, “This is the place to showcase.”
For the program, Allen is a hungry, instant-impact, NFL-level talent who also helps them make the Wisconsin-style program transition to having almost all starters be 4th- or 5th-year guys. Even if it kicks Barnhart inside, that’s great. Guys like Mason Cole and Mike Onwenu (at least in the pros) have shown the value of positional flexibility.
Everyone’s understandably excited about the OL, but they’re still young at tackle and they may get pushed around by the fully grown dudes. Allen isn’t likely to be pushed around by too many people.
October 16th, 2020 at 10:13 AM ^
I like big dudes. Not like that though. NTTAWWT.
October 16th, 2020 at 9:46 PM ^
Was that wrong?
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