Playmaker: Marcus Allen
There have already been so many standout moments in the 2017 season that are attributed to a wide variety of players on the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions football squad.
While offensive standouts like Saquon Barkley (Coplay, Pa.) and DaeSean Hamilton (Fredericksburg, Va.) get a lot of attention each week for their incredible plays, the Penn State defense and special teams are making moves of their own, too.
This week, we take a look at senior safety Marcus Allen (Upper Marlboro, Md.). You may remember Allen making the king of all plays last year when Penn State toppled No. 2 Ohio State.
Although Allen only recently began garnering fame and attention for his agile and smart plays, the safety has been on a roll since his 2014 freshman season.
In 2014, Allen appeared in all 13 games, starting seven of them. Allen began his infamous career against Ohio State in the 2014 season, where he was the starting safety against No. 13 Buckeyes. Allen logged 11 tackles against the Buckeyes, proving that although he was a freshman, he was ready to step up to the big leagues.
Allen was one of just nine true freshmen to start a game in 2014. That same fall, Allen recorded a whopping nine tackles against Michigan State, with four of those being solo tackles.
As a sophomore, Allen was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by both the coaches and media. Allen yet again started most games, only missing one (against Army) due to an injury.
In 2015, Allen recorded nine and 11 tackles against Big Ten foes Indiana and Ohio State, respectively. Allen also made his first career fumble recovery and helped force five turnovers against Maryland that season.
At the Michigan game, Allen made a career-high 12 tackles and helped hold Michigan to less than 100 yards rushing for the entire game - no small feat.
We already know that Allen’s standout moment of 2016 was against Ohio State, but Allen was steadily building to that moment all season.
Allen was No. 3 in the Big Ten for fumble recoveries with two. Allen also became the second FBS player to ever record more than 20 tackles in a game, logging 22 (eight solo) against Minnesota early on in the season.
Later that season, Allen clinched 10 tackles, five of which were solo, against another Big Ten school: Indiana. The Lions went on to win this game, poising them to take the Big Ten Championship Title just weeks later, where Allen made 11 tackles against Wisconsin in Penn State’s epic final quarter comback.
When Allen is not tackling, practicing or hammering it out in the weight room, he is dancing. Yes, Allen has become somewhat of a Twitter sensation for his post-game dance videos. You can check all of them out on his Twitter.
Hopefully, Allen will continue to impress with both his quick moves on the field and suave ones afterward. As they say, Penn State’s got the moves needed to win. Let’s go State!
While offensive standouts like Saquon Barkley (Coplay, Pa.) and DaeSean Hamilton (Fredericksburg, Va.) get a lot of attention each week for their incredible plays, the Penn State defense and special teams are making moves of their own, too.
This week, we take a look at senior safety Marcus Allen (Upper Marlboro, Md.). You may remember Allen making the king of all plays last year when Penn State toppled No. 2 Ohio State.
Although Allen only recently began garnering fame and attention for his agile and smart plays, the safety has been on a roll since his 2014 freshman season.
In 2014, Allen appeared in all 13 games, starting seven of them. Allen began his infamous career against Ohio State in the 2014 season, where he was the starting safety against No. 13 Buckeyes. Allen logged 11 tackles against the Buckeyes, proving that although he was a freshman, he was ready to step up to the big leagues.
Allen was one of just nine true freshmen to start a game in 2014. That same fall, Allen recorded a whopping nine tackles against Michigan State, with four of those being solo tackles.
As a sophomore, Allen was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by both the coaches and media. Allen yet again started most games, only missing one (against Army) due to an injury.
In 2015, Allen recorded nine and 11 tackles against Big Ten foes Indiana and Ohio State, respectively. Allen also made his first career fumble recovery and helped force five turnovers against Maryland that season.
At the Michigan game, Allen made a career-high 12 tackles and helped hold Michigan to less than 100 yards rushing for the entire game - no small feat.
We already know that Allen’s standout moment of 2016 was against Ohio State, but Allen was steadily building to that moment all season.
Allen was No. 3 in the Big Ten for fumble recoveries with two. Allen also became the second FBS player to ever record more than 20 tackles in a game, logging 22 (eight solo) against Minnesota early on in the season.
Later that season, Allen clinched 10 tackles, five of which were solo, against another Big Ten school: Indiana. The Lions went on to win this game, poising them to take the Big Ten Championship Title just weeks later, where Allen made 11 tackles against Wisconsin in Penn State’s epic final quarter comback.
When Allen is not tackling, practicing or hammering it out in the weight room, he is dancing. Yes, Allen has become somewhat of a Twitter sensation for his post-game dance videos. You can check all of them out on his Twitter.
Hopefully, Allen will continue to impress with both his quick moves on the field and suave ones afterward. As they say, Penn State’s got the moves needed to win. Let’s go State!
