willie allen
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Willie Allen Transfers To Michigan Comment Count

Brian October 15th, 2020 at 9:00 PM

This one came out of nowhere:

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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Comments

MarcusBrooks

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? 

Joined: 07/25/2013

MGoPoints: 3035

Gentleman Squirrels

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.

Joined: 06/03/2014

MGoPoints: 43421

Seth

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. 

Joined: 10/14/2008

MGoPoints: 149219

lsjtre

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 

Joined: 11/16/2018

MGoPoints: 4385

BursleyHall82

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!

Joined: 07/14/2013

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Don

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?

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148358

MGoStrength

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.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

Joby

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. 

 

Joined: 10/19/2011

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