Devon Allen is fast.
As a senior he was Arizona State Champion in three events in Track and Field, the 200 meters, the 110-meter high hurdles, and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. He’s run a 10.48 100 and a 20.75 200, with so much potential as a track star he’ll compete in both sports at Oregon.
Racing for the pylon and the tape: Devon Allen could be a part of PAC-12 and National Championships in two sports, and that’s exciting. (usatodayhssports.com photo)
But the really exciting thing is, Devon isn’t just a fast guy trying to play football. He’s no Reynaldo Nehemiah, Jimmy Hines, or Jordan Kent.
The Brophy College Prep product is a legit football player with toughness, good hands, and great route-running skills. He drives off the line. He takes the ball in smoothly and has good footwork on the sideline. He runs slants, fades and deep routes with equal skill and dexterity.
Allen scored 17 total touchdowns as a junior, nine in his senior year while fighting through a late-season high ankle sprain which also bothered him this spring in track.
He’s serious and intelligent. With the experience of the intense one-on-one individual battles of track, he’s used to competing at the highest levels and performing under the gun. Allen finished fourth in the Junior Nationals this summer, held at Hayward field, where he also ran in the Nike Nationals in 2010 and ’11, so he’s used to the biggest stages in two sports.
He’s polished and disciplined as a wide receiver, catching 43 balls for 749 yards last season, 44 passes for 844 yards and 14 tds as a junior. At 6-1, 193, he’s physically mature, with the size and speed to take on PAC-12 cornerbacks as a freshman, displaying good body control and timing on jump balls, working confidently over the middle, a complete receiver rather than a track guy experimenting with football.
The challenge for him will be absorbing the playbook and getting enough reps to work his way up a crowded rotation in his first fall camp. His speed makes him an intriguing option, with the potential to become the first true deep threat the Ducks have had at wideout since Samie Parker. He’s two steps faster than any current Oregon receiver not named De’Anthony Thomas.
His highlight film shows the requisite blocking tenacity offensive coordinator Scott Frost expects in the receivers, and physically, the kid will remind fans of a faster Jeff Maehl. That’s an intriguing upside, but he’ll to prove it in practice and show consistency to get an early chance to run with the varsity instead of the scout team.
Allen returned punts at Brophy, breaking several for long gains, including three career tds as a returner, making him another intriguing option for the Ducks in the return game, the receiver rotation and the 4×100 relay.
Interview during recruitment, with football and track highlights:
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