Florida TE sporting offers

Junior to Watch: Brad Allen

School: Venice, Fla.

Position: Tight End/Defensive End

Size and speed: Allen is 6-foot-4, weighs 240 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds. He bench-presses 285 pounds and squats 400.

Statistics: As a junior, he had more than 300 yards receiving and two touchdowns while grading out over 90 percent on blocking assignments. He also had 62 tackles and nine sacks as a defensive end.

Honors: Was selected honorable mention Class 6A all-state and named to the all-area team.

Favorite Schools: Georgia Tech, Florida, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Stanford, Auburn.

Skinny: Venice coach Nick Coleman has yet to see one of his players advance up the football ladder and eventually reach the NFL, but he’s told that could change in the next few years.

“Every coach who comes in here to see Brad tells me he’s a guy that’s going to be playing on Sundays,” Coleman said. “I’ve not had one go to the league yet, so I really can’t go that far when I talk about him, but he’s a major college player for sure.”

What makes Allen so special?

“He’s got everything you look for in a tight end,” Coleman said. “He’s got good size, strength, speed and hands. Most guys are strong in one area and need to work on something else. Brad’s got it all.

“We don’t throw the ball a whole lot, but he still had about 320 yards receiving and a couple of touchdowns. The thing that sets him apart is he can flat block and he’s got a great motor. He loves to block at the point of attack and knock those ends and linebackers on their backs.”

Allen has received approximately nine official scholarship offers to date. They include Florida, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Duke, Vanderbilt, Purdue, South Florida, Penn and Furman. He’s also receiving heavy interest from Auburn, Miami, Stanford and West Virginia, among others.

“There’s some great schools in that mix because he’s a fine all-around student-athlete,” Coleman said. “He’s got a 3.5 GPA and he’s scored a 1200 on his SAT and a 24 on his ACT. He’s just a special kid, someone I’ve been proud to be associated with. If you had a daughter, he’s the type of kid you’d want her to go out with. I’d give him the keys to my house.”

That’s not to say he’s “too good,” though.

“He’ll knock your head off,” Coleman said. “He’s a tough guy on the field, very aggressive and competitive.”

Allen visited Georgia Tech and Clemson for junior day events in recent weeks.