Russell Allen
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Russell Allen (born May 5, 1986, in Upland, California) plays linebacker for the San Diego State University Aztecs in the NCAA college football tournament. An emerging leader in San Diego State's defense, Allen moved up into the depth chart and provided the needed stops in 2007, enroute to earning All-Mountain West Conference accolades from the league and several other publications. The Vista High School product also turned out a signature game as a junior after establishing a new school record of 22 tackles in the Utah game, to earn a Defensive Player of the Week recognition from the conference.
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[edit] Personal Life
Russell is the son of Jennifer and Dave Allen. Russell did not play football until he was in ninth grade as he was too big for Pop Warner football rules. He decided to buy some time in the soccer field where he described himself as “a physical player with no skill.” When he was recruited, his coaches compared him to former UCLA standout Brandon Chillar---very athletic, with long arms and good upper body strength. Russell majored in kinesiology at San Diego State University.
Russell considers Jesus Christ as the most important person for his self-development, names Braveheart as his favorite movie, and looks up to Ray Lewis as his favorite athlete. [1]
[edit] High School
Allen played high school football at Vista High School where as a sophomore, he was promoted to the varsity to play defensive end but admitted that he did not know much about the sport when he played DE. He did eventually learn from his teammates on getting off blocks and the pass rush. He helped the Panthers win the CIF San Diego Section Division I title at Qualcomm Stadium that year. The following year as a junior, Allen was moved to the linebacking position midway through the season because of an injury to a starter. He liked the transition because he got to explore the technical part of the game and learned how to outsmart his opponents. He contributed heavily for the team as Vista returned to the Qualcomm Stadium to claim runner-up finish in Division I. During his final year, Allen displayed his dominance on the D after recording a team high 118 tackles in addition to four sacks, four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, and one touchdown return off an interception. He received several postseason accolades for his efforts, including the San Diego County defensive player of the year honors from the San Diego Union-Tribune, the North County Times, and the CIF. In addition, he was also selected into the Second-team all-state and All-Far West selections from CalHi-Sports.com and SuperPrep, respectively.
[edit] College
Listed as the #33 outside linebacker prospect in the country by Rivals.com and the 99th ranked linebacker by Scout.com, Allen received scholarship offers from several BCS schools, including Pac-10's Arizona who was the first school to show interest in the Oceanside, California native. San Diego State, Wyoming, and Utah soon followed suit along with other prominent programs that include UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State among others. Allen, however wanted to play college ball at Colorado State. However, the San Diego State coaches managed to sway Allen over to their side and not long after, joined Vista High teammate Eric Miclot in signing a letter of intent at SDSU.
[edit] 2004
After polishing his skills and learning some tips from Pro Bowl linebacker Donnie Edwards at the 14th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Classic on the 9th of July, Allen sat out his freshman year as a redshirt.
[edit] 2005
Allen finally made his collegiate debut at the season-opening game against UCLA and then made his first career start the following week @ Air Force where he tallied four stops. He added four more tackles in the Aztec's third straight defeat @ Ohio State and then contributed a career and team game-high 10 tackles in the win over BYU enroute to earning the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week award. In the 10-13 loss against UNLV, Allen recorded his first career interception which he followed with another, weeks later against Colorado State. He had 8 stops against New Mexico and duplicated the feat in consecutive wins against Colorado State and Wyoming. He ended the year as the Aztecs' 6th leading tackler with 61 tackles (32 solos, 29 assists) in 12 games and seven starts. He also chipped in 1 tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, and 3 pass break ups in six straight starts at weakside linebacker.
[edit] 2006
Allen made his sophomore season debut against Texas-El Paso and registered 4 tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage in the 27-34 defeat. He led the team with 9 stops @ Wisconsin in the shut-out loss the following week and then registered 6, 7 (with 1 for loss), and 5 stops in losses to Utah, San Jose State, and Brigham Young. The BYU game also marked his first start at strongside linebacker after spending his first four outings at the weakside. In the Aztecs' first ever win of the season against Air Force, Allen established a career high of 14 tackles with a season best 8 assists and then tallied his second 10+ tackle game the following week against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, recording 10 solos with 1 for loss in the 14-16 defeat. In the close 24-27 defeat @ Wyoming, Allen had 6 stops and broke a pass and then went on to add to his season totals with 6 more stops (1 TFL) in the 21-7 victory against UNLV. In the shut-out loss to TCU, he racked 8 more tackles before being limited to a season low 4 stops in the loss @ New Mexico. He ended the year with 8 tackles in the 17-6 win over Colorado State.
By season's end, Allen ranked 2nd in the team behind Joe Martin in tackles with 89 (48 solo, 41 assist) and tackles for loss (6.5) with 0.5 sack, and 1 pass break up. He was also 9th in the MWC in tackles per game (7.3) and ranked in the top 100 nationally.
[edit] 2007
The junior emerged as the leader in the defense as the team switched defensive schemes from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. He was vested with the responsibility of making checks, calls and adjustments [2]. His previous year's performance also netted him a spot at the Butkus Award Watch List. At the season opener, Allen recorded 7 tackles in the 17-45 loss and then followed up with a season low total of 5 stops @ Arizona State. In SDSU's first win of the season against Portland State, Allen recorded 7 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass break up and then followed it up with a strong showing in the loss to 24th ranked Cincinnati. Against the Bearcats, Allen registered a season high 11 solos for a total of 15 tackles, with 1 TFL and 1 pass break up in the 23-52 defeat. He added 8 more tackles @ Colorado State and then turned up his best performance yet @ Utah, tallying 22 stops including a season best 12 assists, with 1.5 TFLs, and 1 sack. Although the Utes defeated the Aztecs, Allen was still rewarded with a share of the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors after breaking a 36-year old school record and tying the Rice-Eccles stadium record in tackles held by Brian Urlacher (New Mexico, 1999). In the 17-20 homecoming loss to New Mexico, Allen tallied nine tackles, 0.5 TFL, and a season best 2 pass break ups before adding nine more stops with 1.5 TFL and 1 pass break up in the 27-24 win over Wyoming. He went on to produce indentical numbers in solos (5), assists (3), and total tackles (8) in the road victory over UNLV and the loss @ Air Force, respectively. In the loss to TCU, Allen recorded his 3rd 10+ game with 12 tackles and 1 pass break up before ending the season with a 9-tackle effort in the loss to BYU.
Allen ended the season as the team's leading tackler with 119 total stops (71 solos, 48 assists) with 5.5 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 pick-off, 6 pass break ups, and 1 fumble. His 10.6 tackle per game average is also tops in the league. He also received All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades from the league and earned First Team All-MWC from Phil Steele.
[edit] Highlights
| Russell Allen and the rest of the Aztecs practice the Oklahoma drill. |
[edit] Achievements
[edit] 2007
- All-MWC Honorable Mention
- Butkus Award Watch List
- Co-Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Utah)
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-MWest Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason All-MWest Second Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #17 Player in the MWC (Preseason)
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #18 Player in the MWC
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #2 LB in the MW
- Phil Steele All-MWC First Team
- SDSU's Dr. R. Hardy/C.E. Peterson Captains Award
[edit] 2005
- Mountain West Conference all-academic selection
- Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week (vs. BYU)
- The Sporting News Honorable Mention Freshman All-America
