Four-star Allen takes in Purdue practice
Purdue has hosted several of the state of Indiana's top prospects for spring practices in the last few weeks. On Wednesday, Indianapolis Ben Davis four-star safety Antonio Allen was back in West Lafayette to see the Boilermaker's in action.
"I went to Purdue for a junior day too," Allen noted. "The first time I went down there I didn't meet the defensive back coach and I didn't speak to the head coach even. I got to meet [the DB coach] and he coaches almost the same as our coaches. He seemed pretty cool too.
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"I talked to Coach [Danny] Hope and he said he is just trying to rebuild the program and he needs some Indianapolis guys to help do that. He said I have speed and I have strength, and I could be either a three-year starter or four-year starter."
Allen's junior day visits also did not allow the in-state prospect to get in-depth on many of the day-to-day football aspects of the program, but he saw plenty of that during Wednesday's trip.
"They were practicing yesterday and I feel that they had a very good practice," Allen said. "I was looking at their techniques, and I was watching how they run their practices. They really do the same things Ben Davis does."
Purdue is one of nine schools that have already offered Allen - others include Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss and Minnesota - and his recent visits to West Lafayette have helped the Boilermaker's position.
"They are really high on the rankings on my list right now," he said. "I'll just have to visit some more."
Prior to his trip to Purdue, Allen had most recently visited Illinois. He is looking to schedule visits with other schools in the coming week.
"I'm going to try to go somewhere spring break," Allen said. "We get out of school tomorrow, so I will try to go either Saturday or Tuesday to Michigan State. I will probably get out to Michigan State when they have practice, so I'll have to call the coach and see when they have practice.
"I want to go see Iowa during spring break, but I will probably have to go see them in April or May because that is a pretty far ride. My coach has been taking me places, so it really depends on how his schedule is."
One other trip that Allen is considering is to Ole Miss on April 14.