#21- Keenan Allen/ Wide Receiver/ California Golden Bears/ Sophomore
In February of last year, national signing day approached and Alabama thought they had secured the #3 overall defensive back in the the country coming out of high school in Greensboro, North Carolina. Little did the Bama staff know, defensive end Gabe King, and Linebacker Chris McCain, who had already committed verbally to Oregon, both also from the Greensboro area, were planning with Allen, to switch their commitments and sign their letter of intent to play football at Cal- Berkeley. On National signing day, all three signed their L.O.I's with Cal confirming the rumors. Allen arrived on Campus as the highest ranked recruit since #1 overall Wide Receiver and now Philadelphia Eagles wide out DeSean Jackson. Oddly, their stories are similar. Jackson, who came to Cal in 2005, was the number one recruit at his position and had been courted and verbally committed to the hometown (Jackson is from the Los Angeles area) USC Trojans. Late in the process, Jackson switched his commitment, shocking many local fans, and signed his L.O.I with Cal. The rest is history, Jackson now is an all-pro WR and Kick Returner, with electric speed , agility, elusiveness, and athleticism. The comparisons stop there though as the size and speed of Allen and Jackson are vastly different. 10th year head coach Jeff Tedford had to see something that made him and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig scratch their heads and decide for Allen to play offense, giving him the ball in space and utilizing his athleticism and size. Allen is 6'3 200 lbs, and is very athletic with a high football I.Q. Last year, he was on the field as a true freshman, signaling that Tedford never intended to keep Allen on the sidelines. Since arriving at Cal, and becoming a full-time WR, Allen ran for 136 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, which was 3rd best on the team rushing, and caught 46 passes for 490 yards and 5 td's( 2nd best on team). Although Cal has extremely talented players all over the field, they have been inconsistent this decade, starting fast and floundering at the end of the season. Coming off a 5-7 record, the Golden Bears are looking to jump into the upper echelon of the PAC-12 and stay there. With a ton of highly regarded recruits coming off of redshirt years, I expect Allen's numbers to improve and for him to be one of the best up and coming receivers in college football.
Photo: Courtesy of cal bears online.com
article by Ronald Hill
Recruiting Sources: Tom Lemming, Rivals.com, Phil Steele.com
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