Tom Allen, the new defensive coordinator at Penn State, is someone we at Trojans Wire were high on when USC began its defensive coordinator search.
“It’s Indiana football. It’s hard for anyone to recruit well there. Allen is highly respected as a defensive mind. Even if his actual recruiting chops aren’t great, Allen takes two- and three-star players and molds them into quality defensive performers. When recruits see that Tom Allen (or maybe someone with similar credentials) is USC defensive coordinator, that itself could have a positive effect on recruiting.
“Allen could recruit USC well even without doing the recruiting personally. His reputation could change a lot of recruitments, even without paying any prospect a house call.”
Allen is an elite X-and-O coach who will give Lincoln Riley a tough challenge. On our recent USC show at The Voice of College Football, we talked to Penn State analyst Marty Leap from Happy Valley Insider on Rivals. Our Tom Allen conversation begins at 19:05 in the video below:
Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.
Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.