Tag: D.J. Allen

Rutgers football defensive end DJ Allen gives back to the community

For DJ Allen, the last 12 months have been full of change. The Indiana native began his college football at Rutgers last fall and made his season debut on September 10th in a win over Wagner. While he will be looking to make a more significant …

For DJ  Allen, the last 12 months have been full of change. The Indiana native began his college football at Rutgers last fall and made his season debut on September 10th in a win over Wagner. While he will be looking to make a more significant impact during the 2023 campaign, he recently took the time to give back to his community.

On Tuesday, Allen met with kids at the Prime Boxing Academy Youth Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He spoke with the next generation about what it takes to make it in sports and school. While at the Youth club, he also touched on what he learned in his first year at Piscataway in an interview with Wane-Tv.

The talented defensive end, who was a redshirt last season as a freshman, reflected on how the Rutgers coaching staff focused on improving his strength and getting him in the weight room.

” Well, my frame was something they saw that they could build upon. Getting me in the weight room. Building on my strength and getting more lean mass.” Allen told Glenn Marini, the Sports Director at Wane-Tv.

While Allen learned a lot in his first year as a Scarlet Knight, he did not hide how much he is looking forward to what the 2023 season brings.

“It was definitely a learning experience, and you go through ups and downs,” said Allen. ” First, getting there and not really knowing what to expect. I am super excited for this season and looking forward to it. Just focused on getting faster and stronger.”

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Rutgers football: class of 2022 standout plays in prestigious high school all-star basketball game

Rutgers football commit D.J. Allen plays in a recent high school basketball all-star game.

Rutgers football commit D.J. Allen recently played in a high school basketball all-star game in Indiana, underscoring just how special of a talent the future Big Ten defensive end has.

Allen was a three-star recruit in the class of 2022 who signed with Rutgers in December. A dual-sport athlete for Leo High School (Leo, IN), he recently played in the prestigious Hoosiers Gym Classic on a roster that included 21 of the top high school basketball players in Indiana. 

Leo’s basketball team went 21-6 last season.

The talented Allen is a 6-foot-7 edge rusher who also had offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Vanderbilt among others that also included several MAC programs and Ivy League schools.

 

He was the only football player to make the all-star game.

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Rutgers seems to like these dual-sport athletes. Hykeem Williams, a four-star recruit from Florida and one of the top athletes in the nation, was just named all-state on the hardwood following a tremendous season for Stranahan (Ft. Lauderdale).

Last season as a senior,

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Gators coaches expected to visit this 4-star WR target

D.J. Allen will take his fifth and final official visit to Gainesville this weekend.

Florida continues to push hard for four-star Gladewater (Tex.) receiver D.J. Allen and several coaches will be making the trip to visit with him on Tuesday, according to 247Sports’ Blake Alderman. Both head coach Billy Napier and receivers coach Keary Colbert are expected to be in attendance.

Allen was once committed to TCU, but he backed off that early pledge in November. Florida offered Allen on Dec. 30, and since then, Napier and his staff have been aggressively targeting him. He had a prior relationship with Colbert, who recruited him when he held the same role at USC.

“He cares about what you do outside of football and he cares about who you are,” Allen said of Colbert. “He is going to push you to be the best you can be. It’s good to have him there since I know him. I don’t know how to really describe it, but I feel like we already know each other good, so that is good. We have a good bond. He’s been telling me much about Florida but we talk on an off. I talk with Coach Napier too and Coach Hamilton too. Coach Napier tells me how he plans on changing the program around and how much I can help. Coach Hamilton is from Texas, so it’s nice having someone from Texas at Florida. I’ve talked to him a little bit, but not a ton.”

The No. 209 prospect and No. 30 receiver in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, Allen has taken previous visits to USC, Arkansas, Baylor and TCU, and he plans to take his fifth and final visit this weekend to Gainesville. He said he wants to see both the business program (as that’s his intended major) and the football facilities.

With his last visit going to UF, the team is currently in a good position to land him. As things currently stand, the Gators have not added any receivers this offseason either through the transfer portal or recruiting. Allen would be a big win for this staff if it can lock things up next weekend.

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Florida WR coach Keary Colbert visits 4-star Texas prospect

Receiver D.J. Allen also plans to take his final official visit to Gainesville sometime in the coming weeks.

Florida currently has no receivers in its 2022 class. It previously had a blue-chip prospect committed in Jayden Gibson, but it couldn’t maintain Gibson’s commitment through the coaching change as the West Orange product eventually signed with Oklahoma, instead. The position has been a priority for the new staff though.

It has been going hard after Texas receiver Caleb Douglas, a three-star who is set to visit Gainesville this weekend. But another prospect the Gators are eying is four-star Gladewater, Texas, receiver D.J. Allen. Florida receivers coach Keary Colbert, who also recruited Allen when he was at USC, went to visit Allen on Friday. Allen discussed his relationship with Colbert with 247Sports.

“He cares about what you do outside of football and he cares about who you are,” Allen said earlier this week. “He is going to push you to be the best you can be. It’s good to have him there since I know him. I don’t know how to really describe it, but I feel like we already know each other good, so that is good. We have a good bond. He’s been telling me much about Florida but we talk on an off. I talk with Coach Napier too and Coach Hamilton too. Coach Napier tells me how he plans on changing the program around and how much I can help. Coach Hamilton is from Texas, so it’s nice having someone from Texas at Florida. I’ve talked to him a little bit, but not a ton.”

The No. 184 player in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite, Allen was once committed to TCU. The 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pound speedster pledged to the Horned Frogs in August but he backed off that decision on Nov. 11. The Gators offered him at the end of December, and they will look to get him on campus.

Allen said that he will visit Gainesville either next weekend or the weekend after. Though he hasn’t decided yet, he said that his trip to Florida will be his last official visit. The Gators will hope to close with him and add a blue-chip pass-catcher to the class.

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