Offensive lineman Jacob Allen is diligently working through his recruitment. The Rivals100 prospect out of Princeton (N.J.) Hun School was just starting to get familiar with the recruiting process when everything was shutdown because of the pandemic. Now, after talking to and building relationships with many schools that offered him a scholarship, Allen has named his top ten schools. Boston College, Duke, Florida, Miami, Michigan State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, and Virginia all made the cut and Allen explained why he likes each.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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IN HIS OWN WORDS...
Boston College- “With their balance of the football and academics, it's one of my higher academic offers,” Allen said. “Boston is a great city. Boston College definitely has a great offensive line tradition.”
Duke- “They have a great location in North Carolina,” he said. “That's another more academic school and I've been in contact with coach Frey. I really enjoy him as a coach and as a person. Coach Albert is another really great coach and great guy.”
Florida- “They've been with me from pretty early on,” said Allen, “I’ve been in contact with coach Hevesy. He's another great coach and great guy. He'll send me pictures of the stadium and we'll FaceTime and talk to each other as people. He tells me about the program and it's always great talking to him.”
Miami- “Miami is another great with a great football program,” he said. “It's a great place there too. I've been in touch with coach Justice. He's another example of a great guy and a great coach.”
Michigan State- “My good friend Kevin Wigenton is going there and they’ve offered a couple my teammates too,” Allen said. “I talk to coach Kap and coach Harris. I'm actually taking in a virtual visit with them this Wednesday. Coach Kap, like a lot of the other coaches I mentioned, is a great person and coach and I can tell just by talking to him and that it's genuine. Coach Kap is one that I appreciate very much because of how he talks to me. He's straight up with me which I appreciate.”
Penn State- “Penn State has been on me since pretty early on,” he said. “I’m in touch with coach Trout and coach Wendy. It's a great school and it's close to me. I'm not sure what I want to do about distance yet, if I want to go far away or stay close to home but my list is comprised of schools that are decently far away and some that are close. Caeden (Wallace) was my tour guide when I was transferring to Hun. We talk about Penn State and he's a great resource.”
Pittsburgh- “Pitt is a great location and I've been in touch with coach Borbely, another great guy and a great coach,” said Allen. “Logan Clouse is there, my old quarterback from when I first transferred to Hun. He's another great resource that I can talk to about it. He's having fun. Playing against those defensive linemen everyday would help make me a better player.”
Rutgers- “I live about 40 minutes away from Rutgers and they're actually the only school ever visit visited, right before the virus hit,” he said. “Coach Aurich, coach Fraser, and coach Schiano have all been great resources, getting me information on Rutgers. They always make an effort to reach out to me, even when I'm not really the best responder.
“All these big prospects committing to Rutgers has been great to see,” Allen said. “I’ve actually been in contact with a few of them. They're great guys and they've talked to me about why they wanted to go to Rutgers.”
South Carolina- “I’ve been in contact with coach Adkins and coach Lembo,” he said. “I like that staff. They're all very genuine. I had my first virtual tour with them and the strength coach, coach Day, the other day. Coach Day was very personable with how it felt with him and the effort that he puts in. He was saying that even though we just met and are basically strangers, we're going to become brothers through struggling. That's something he really focuses on, struggling well, and I love that. I feel like that's a great way to look at it because college football is a struggle.
“I actually asked coach Lembo how he thinks a yankee would be treated down there and he said that around 25-percent of their kids are from the northeast and the New Jersey area,” said Allen. “It wouldn't be like I'm the only guy in the locker room from Jersey or the northeast area.
“My grandparents live down there,” he said. “They're in Myrtle Beach. My family goes and visits my grandpa, my grandma, and some of my cousins and aunts and uncles go down there.”
Virginia- “I think that they're doing great in the ACC,” Allen said. “They actually have a former Hun player too in Bobby Haskins. Coach Tujague is unlike any other coach in the way he recruits. He's very passionate about it. He's one of the coaches that will text me everyday about what they're doing at Virginia and his philosophies. It's great to see the effort he puts in. He has a lot of passion for the offensive line tradition at Virginia. He likes to say 'Big men lead.’”
On his next steps- “Some time before the dead period is over I'll probably trim this list down a little bit,” he said. “It will probably be around like five or six. Then I'll try and get out there to visit the schools.”
RIVALS' REACTION...
Naming a top ten was a big step for Allen but he still has a lot he wants to learn about these programs. Getting more virtual visits done before he shortens his list again is a top priority for him. Rutgers, Penn State, Michigan State, Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia are all in pretty good position right now but Allen is learning more about every school in his top ten everyday so things could change quickly.
