Marcus Allen (linebacker)

Marcus Allen
refer to caption
Allen with the Steelers in 2020
No. 27
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1996-08-07) August 7, 1996 (age 28)
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr.
(Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
College:Penn State
NFL draft:2018 / round: 5 / pick: 148
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:57
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Marcus Deshawn Allen (born August 7, 1996) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Penn State. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Early life

Allen attended Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, where he was a three-year letterman. He recorded just over 150 tackles and four interceptions over his four years in high school. He was rated a four-star recruit by Scout and 247Sports and a three-star prospect by ESPN and Rivals. He was ranked as a Top 30 prospect at safety nationally by Scout and 247Sports, and rated the No. 6 prep player in Maryland by 247Sports. He was named after All-Pro and Super Bowl champion running back Marcus Allen.[1]

Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Marcus Allen
S 		Upper Marlboro, MD Dr. Henry Wise HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 191 lb (87 kg) N/A Apr 10, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 77[2]
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

College career

Playing all 13 games, starting 7, Allen recorded a total of 58 tackles with one sack and two tackle for loss. During his sophomore season he ranked second on the team in tackles with 81 only behind Brandon Bell. Had six tackles and one forced fumble vs Georgia in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl. In his junior season he ranked No. 16 in the Big Ten Conference with 7.9 tackles per game. No. 3 in the Big Ten and tied for No. 30 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with two fumble recoveries. The 22-tackle effort vs. Minnesota ranked No. 3 on the FBS single-game list in 2016 (24 - Obi Melifonwu, UConn & Rodney Butler, NMSU).[3] In 2016, Allen also blocked the field goal that Grant Haley would return for a touchdown to upset No. 2 Ohio State, which became known as the Block Six.

College statistics

Penn State Nittany Lions
Season Team Games Tackles Sacks/Yds TFL/Yds Fumbles Interceptions
Solo Asst Tot FF FR Defl Int TD
2014 Penn State 13 35 23 58 1/11 2/13 0 0 3 0 0
2015 Penn State 12 44 38 81 1/9 5/19 2 1 2 0 0
2016 Penn State 14 57 53 110 0/0 6/15 1 2 3 0 0
2017 Penn State 13 45 26 71 1/4 4/12 2 0 3 1 1
Total 52 181 139 320 3/24 17/59 5 3 11 1 1

Professional career

On November 10, 2017, it was announced that Allen had accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.[4] On January 17, 2018, Allen played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl as part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost 45–16 to the South. Allen attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, but opted to only perform the vertical jump, broad jump, bench press, and short shuttle. On March 20, 2018, he attended Penn State's pro day and completed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, 10-yard dash, and three-cone drill. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Allen was projected to be a third or fourth round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the fourth best strong safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.[5]

External videos
video icon Marcus Allen's NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+1⁄8 in
(1.88 m) 		215 lb
(98 kg) 		30+5⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.63 s 1.57 s 2.67 s 4.32 s 7.13 s 37 in
(0.94 m)		 10 ft 7 in
(3.23 m)		 15 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Penn State's Pro Day[6][5]

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Allen in the fifth round (148th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.[7] Allen was the 15th safety drafted in 2018.[8] On May 10, 2018, the Steelers signed Allen to a four-year, $2.75 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $292,637.[9]

External videos
video icon Steelers draft Marcus Allen 148th overall

On August 31, 2019, Allen was waived by the Steelers and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[10][11] On December 20, he was promoted to the active roster.[12]

Allen was moved to linebacker for the 2020 season, and signed a one-year contract extension with the team on March 9, 2021.[13]

On March 15, 2022, the Steelers placed an original-round restricted free agent tender on Allen. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Marcus Allen - Scout.com". Scout. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "Marcus Allen Recruiting Profile - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  3. ^ "Marcus Allen Junior season recap". GoPSUSports. September 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "2018 Reese's Senior Bowl Invite Tracker". rosterwatch.com. November 10, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Marcus Allen, DS #4 SS, Penn State". draftscout.com. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Marcus Allen (S)". NFL.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 NFL Draft Results: Pittsburgh Steelers select safety Marcus Allen with fifth round pick". Behind The Steel Curtain. April 28, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Spotrac.com: Marcus Allen contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "Steelers make roster cuts". Steelers.com. August 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "Steelers announce 2019 practice squad". Steelers.com. September 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Kozora, Alex (December 20, 2019). "Steelers Release Kameron Kelly, Promote Marcus Allen To 53 Man Roster". steelersdepot.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Varley, Teresa (March 9, 2021). "Allen signed to a one-year contract". Steelers.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  14. ^ Varley, Teresa (August 30, 2022). "Steelers make first round of roster moves". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2023.