Clayton (OH) Northmont wide receiver Markus Allen committed to Michigan on Tuesday, and he is not to be confused with former USC Heisman winner and NFL running back Marcus Allen, nor former Penn State safety Marcus Allen. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Indiana, Pitt, Purdue, and West Virginia, among others.
Allen is listed at 6’2″ and 190 lbs. He made 51 receptions for 1,099 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior in 2019.
RANKINGS
ESPN: N/A
Rivals: 3-star WR, 5.7 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 86 grade, #113 WR
Hit the jump for more on Allen’s commitment.
Michigan offered Allen back in February, right around National Signing Day. He was slated to visit Ann Arbor in March along with teammate Rod Moore (who also has an offer), but COVID-19 ruined that opportunity. However, Michigan stayed on him and gave him a virtual tour of campus. The writing has been on the wall for several weeks that he would eventually end up committing to Michigan.
If you’re a Michigan fan, you really should watch his commitment video(s):
I’m 10000% Committed…†
— Markus Allen☆ (@MarkusAllen19) April 28, 2020
Let’s get to work..🖤 pic.twitter.com/7HyiQdsqdh
— Markus Allen☆ (@MarkusAllen19) April 28, 2020
Allen has a solid body type with good height. He looks like he could end up in the 205-210 lb. range down the road. Against decent competition in Ohio, he put up some excellent numbers with over 21 yards per catch. He specializes in high-pointing the ball, and he has very good hand-eye coordination to pluck the football away from defensive backs. He’s also a quick-twitch leaper who flashes his hands late, which will help him when defensive backs are trying to react to his hands.
What I don’t like about Allen is less about him than about Michigan recruiting in general at this point. There are times in the past where the Wolverines have brought in “live” athletes with athletic upside, but Allen isn’t the kind of dynamic athlete who is going to help the Wolverines take the next step. I can’t help being reminded of the Penn State receivers Josh Gattis and James Franklin have brought in during recent years who, other than K.J. Hamler, have been pretty nondescript athletes.
Overall, Allen is a fine player. I think he might outplay his ranking, because he reminds me of former Michigan receiver Amara Darboh, who turned into a 3rd round draft pick. I even think Allen is a little more athletically talented, but Darboh was drafted higher than he should have been. But being a “fine player” doesn’t help Michigan take a step closer to Ohio State. Michigan already had Amara Darboh on the team, and Jim Harbaugh went 10-3 with him on the squad – including a loss to Ohio State.
Michigan now has 11 commitments in the 2021 class. Allen attends the same high school as Michigan defensive end Gabe Newburg, but they did not play together when Newburg was in high school. There’s also a strong possibility that the aforementioned Moore will join Allen in the class.
TTB Rating: I am not giving out TTB Ratings until I finalize the 2020 class.
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With teams handing out 300 offers a year, it surprises me that we’re going after guys lacking big-time offers
Still, that video is the best I’ve seen since Cesar Ruiz. Best of luck & GO BLUE
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Reminds me of a kid, I had a long time ago. Everybody agreed that the kid was slow. He didn’t win a sprint all year, even the ones where you get to quit. But then, there was the other thing … he never got caught. When he got a step, he never gave it up and it didn’t matter who was chasing him.
Drove people crazy.
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Darboh ran a 4.45 at the Combine. That’s one of the more surprising times I can remember for a Michigan player, because he didn’t play like it. Some guys run slow and play fast. Other guys run fast and play slow.
Maryland’s Javon Leake ran a 4.65 when his speed was one of Maryland’s biggest assets on offense.
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Plus, the kid has a good name. A “c” would have been better, but still a really, really good name.
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Help me understand the point you’re making here … so the kid didn’t seem to do well in sprints, but on the field he’d never get caught if he had a step lead? That suggests he’d turn the jets on when he felt like it, but otherwise no. Am I reading that correctly?
It reminds me of a study I did 35 years ago in a warehouse setting. On slow days, the workers would spend 8 hours putting up X amount of received stock. On busy days, they’d spend 8 hours putting up 3X amount of received stock. Lesson: they worked at the speed needed.
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Yup.
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I thought about your question some and it wasn’t like he turned on the jets so much as somebody chasing him seemingly provided him with a tailwind, somehow.
He never really pulled away either. He just didn’t get caught.
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He reminds me of Kekoa Crawford. About the same size, speed and expectations. He may be a dependable piece down the road but not really someone that’s going to excite people right now. Hopefully, he does more than Kekoa did for UM.
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