DT Allen setting officials

Three-star Minnesota offensive lineman Beau Allen took his first official visit of the recruiting process last month, and since that time he has taken another unofficial.

Now the 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman from Big Ten country is thinking about the other official visits that he would like to take.

The first trip Allen took was to Wisconsin the weekend the Badgers defeated FCS member Wofford by a score of 44-14. He learned a lot on that visit and considered it a positive step forward in the recruiting process. What does he plan on doing now?

"I took an unofficial visit to Minnesota and watched the Gophers play the Badgers," he said, referring back to the weekend of October 3. "Other than that I haven't taken any officials. I've got one schedule this weekend to Notre Dame so I can view their game against Boston College. Hopefully that will be a good, informative trip.

"I'm going to take one (official) to Minnesota and that shouldn't be too hard. Most likely I'll take one to Stanford, and I'm not sure about the fifth one. I don't know if I'll take the fifth. I might go to Michigan or maybe UCLA. It's still kind of a big question mark."

Allen is ranked the No. four prospect in Minnesota, and as such he's surely receiving a lot of pressure from those around him to stay close to home. Is any of that going to sway him?

"You know, I really like the (new) stadium and that's really cool. Everybody is all pumped up about it. There are people out there tailgating and you never really saw that with the Dome. I've also got a lot of older friends that go to the 'U', and they seem more pumped about the program, so it's exciting.

"Everyone's kind of got their own opinion and I'm being pushed a lot of ways. I'm not too worried about where everyone else wants me to go. I just want to go where I think the best fit for me will be and where I feel most comfortable."

When asked if he has a list of favorites Allen answered in the affirmative.

"In no real order I'd say it would be Minnesota, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Stanford and probably Michigan. I'll make my decision after the season at some point. I'm not exactly sure when. I'm hoping that at some point a golden light will shine down from heaven and I'll know what I'm supposed to do."