Four-star 2022 QB Brady Allen feels the shutdown impact
The most important summer for quarterbacks is the one before junior season. Like many of his fellow class of 2022 prospects, Fort Branch (Ind.) Gibson Southern’s Brady Allen has lost opportunities to compete and showcase his abilities due to the coronavirus shutdown.
“That’s been the main thing – missing the camps and the visits,” Allen remarked. “We’re missing being able to get out, go take visits, go to camps and do what we need to do to get exposure.
“Quarterback is the fastest position to go in recruiting, so it’s definitely been disappointing not to be able to get out.”
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One of the top-rated quarterbacks in the 2022 class, Allen is fortunate that his recruitment started before the world shut down. Even a four-star, though, feels the impact of lost opportunities.
“I know coach (Tommy) Rees from Notre Dame was going to come in this spring to watch me throw,” Allen said. “So, we missed out on that opportunity and I missed out on getting up there to visit.”
Notre Dame has been recruiting Allen since his freshman year, but the evaluations this off-season were going to be key to consideration for a scholarship offer. In the absence of in-person contact, Allen has gotten on the phone with Rees every other week. He has also tried to give Notre Dame, as well as schools like Georgia, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, and Northwestern that have shown new interest, other ways to evaluate him.
“I missed getting out to those schools and having a lot of those schools see me throw,” he said. “I didn’t have a lot of film out there, so we’ve been able to get some film together and send it out to those guys.”
Schools that have offered scholarships already include Indiana, Kansas, Purdue, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and communication with each of those programs remains consistent.
“I have been on 2-3 calls daily,” Allen said. “I have been really fortunate to have those guys offer, and they all have done a good job keeping things going and being able to get in contact with them.
“I’ve obviously been able to get out to Purdue and Indiana quite a bit, so I have a pretty good feel for those guys. With all this going on it sucks I wasn’t able to get up to Wisconsin or out to West Virginia or over to Kansas. That’s put a little delay in the relationship-growing, but I have a good feel for everybody.”
Gyms in Indiana have re-opened, and Allen has taken advantage of the opportunities to get back to a more normal training routine. He has also been working with his receivers and getting on Zoom meetings with his coach, trying to prepare for junior season.