Signing Day Capsule: DB Derrik Allen
DERRIK ALLEN - DEFENSIVE BACK
ISD: 4-star
Composite: 4-star
Marietta, GA (Lassiter HS)
6-foot-2, 210 pounds
Senior Stats: 54 solo tackles, 3 TFL, 3 INTs, 14 receptions, 191 receiving yards, 4 receiving TDs, 6 KRs for TD
Recruiter: Autry Denson/Todd Lyght
Recruitment Rundown: Allen had offers from just about everybody, but a pair of unofficial visits within a year helped lead Allen to choosing Notre Dame back in February. Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Auburn, Penn State, Oklahoma, UCLA, Tennessee and many others extended offers to Allen, but the academics and the small-school feel made Allen feel comfortable with Notre Dame. The opportunity to play for Irish defensive backs coach Todd Lyght was also appealing. Allen kept his recruitment low-profile and drama-free, which isn’t always the case with elite prospects from the Southeast who make such early pledges to the Irish. Allen gave his word early and never wavered from it.
Lassiter head coach Jep Irwin: “He’s a very strong, fierce competitor. On the field, he’s extremely versatile. He can play receiver. He can return kicks. He can probably play running back if we wanted to. He’s got great size at 6-2, 210. It makes him very versatile on the back end of the defense. If you want him to play safety and come up and play the run, he’s more than willing and able to do that with his size, but he can also play corner and cover guys out of the backfield, cover receivers, cover slot guys.
“He started out as a corner for us. He’s got safety size with corner skills, which is what I think most colleges are looking for now, those bigger corners to try to combat those bigger receivers that Notre Dame is certainly going to see on their schedule.”
ISD expert Jamie Uyeyama: At the time he committed, Allen was one of the highest-rated commits in the class. It’s remained that way and for obvious reasons: Allen can ball.
That was simply reaffirmed by his senior film and he remains an elite safety prospect in my opinion. He showed exciting potential way back in his sophomore season and he’s progressed nicely since then. His exceptional ball skills continue to be a major part of why he’s a great prospect, but it’s the way he has played versus the run that I’ve always liked the most about his game.
He is a downhill player that can work through traffic and finish like he does here. So much of playing the safety position is being able to be consistent when it comes to shutting down the perimeter run game. Allen is capable of being that type of safety.
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