WILL ALLEN
By: Dave-Te' Thomas

#25-WILL ALLEN Syracuse University Orangemen 5:10.3-192

ANALYSIS
Positives... Cat-quick athlete with impressive ball awareness skills...Decisive making the transition from pass coverage to run support...Has the speed to match any receiver stride-for-stride on deep routes...Gets a sharp jump on the ball in zone coverage... Has superb recovery ability when the receiver gets by him...Fluid and graceful moving in space...Plays with aggression and an air of confidence...Very smooth coming out of his backpedal and is adept at switching off.

Negatives... Ineffective in bump-&-run coverage...Misses jams at the line of scrimmage... Allows too much cushion underneath, allowing the receiver to break down his coverage... Lacks instincts, as he tends to misplay the ball and his less than impressive ball awareness skills and poor hands prevents him from getting too many interceptions... Needs to apply himself to becoming a student of the game (his lack of mental alertness is the only thing keeping him from being an outstanding player)...Needs to develop a ball-hawk mentality, as he seems to be content with making the pass break-up, rather than intercepting the ball...Has to work on his tackling technique vs. the run, as he tends to stand too high, allowing the backs to drag him for extra yardage.

CAREER NOTES
Moved into the lineup as a sophomore, starting 28 of 31 games he's played in over the last three seasons...One of the fastest players to ever wear a Syracuse uniform...Handled the bulk of the team's kickoff return duties the last two years...Finished his career with 142 tackles (99 solos) and four interceptions...Also deflected 39 passes...Returned 37 kickoffs for 840 yards (22.7 avg)...His 840 yards rank eighth on the school's career-record list while his 22.7-yard average ranks seventh.

REMIND ME OF... Baltimore's Chris McAlister.

GAZING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL... He has tremendous athletic ability, yet still needs to have his technique totally redone, as it looks like his college coaching did not utilize the best of his ability. Like McAlister, he's raw, but has great upside. Look at his numbers at the Combines. Interesting, right? Well, he did that with borrowed shoes (from linebacker Morlon Greenwood). He wears a size nine, while Greenwood wears an 11 ½. Imagine what those numbers would look like with proper equipment!

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