In February, 2022 four-star safety Bryan Allen Jr. committed to the Texas Longhorns. Just a month before his commitment, Allen, who was then committed to LSU, led the Aledo Bearcats to their 10th state title victory.
According to 247Sports, Allen currently holds 27 collegiate offers from schools such as Florida, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Junior Season Statistics (Via: 247Sports)
- Defense: 67 tackles, 6 pass breakups and 2 interceptions.
Strengths:
Allen shows a real talent in being a safety net from the safety position. For starters, Bryan is not afraid to make a tackle on a running back that has made it to the second level. Additionally, Allen takes decent angles to the football and prevents quite a few big-play touchdowns from happening.
In addition to his tackling ability, Allen also serves as a center fielder for Aledo. Part of what makes Bryan a special player in the secondary is his ability to catch the football. In last season’s playoff game against North Forney, Allen came away with an interception off of a tipped pass which showcased his hands and quick reaction time. However, as I previously mentioned, much of Allen’s center field talent is his ability to clean up and do damage control, even when the offense’s playmaker is on the other side of the field.
Needs Improvement:
Allen has proven to be one of the best safeties in Texas; however, I will be interested to see how he handles being “the guy” at Aledo next season. During his senior season, Allen will be tasked with shouldering more of the team’s responsibilities than usual. In fact, Aledo is losing their two most explosive weapons on offense, JoJo Earle and DeMarco Roberts, due to graduation. As a result, Allen will probably have to play both ways quite often in 2021. I will be interested to see how Allen, who was occasionally utilized at wide receiver last season, handles the adversity.
What I See:
Quite honestly, Allen has always been an intriguing player. He flashed onto the scene during his sophomore year and shored up Aledo’s defense on the back end. Now, a Longhorns commit, Allen will look to become Texas’s next great safety. In my opinion, I believe that Allen has the potential to be developed into a future NFL Draft pick. As a result, I think that Bryan will be a fun player to watch during his tenure with the Longhorns. Until then, I will be excited to see if Allen can lead Aledo to yet another state title in 2021.
