Google: “Chase Allen” and you’ll…
Wait, hold that. Let’s start at the beginning. Google: “Crying UNC fan.”
Now laugh…
That’s Chase Allen, the viral version, gaining sports fame worldwide for his reaction to a Jeff Withy block against his Tar Heels, which at the time was tear inspiring.
Or was it?
“I’m cringing, but the camera catches me at just the moment where it looks like I’m crying,” said a jovial Allen. “That’s what happened. I embraced it, it got on SportsCenter. I’m glad it happened… I was not crying. Some people still to this day say I was crying, but it was a cringe.”
He was just 15 at the time, better known as Terry Allen’s oldest boy as opposed to the all-state football and basketball standout at Nixa he has become.
While the Crying UNC Fan account on Twitter has been inactive for some time, although the occasional video or meme will surface randomly, Allen has been anything but inactive nor has the college attention surrounding him.
The 6-foot-7, 224lb freak of nature has made a name for himself on the hardwood and the gridiron.
His basketball tape is a myriad of dunks, and-1s and blocks. His football film is even more impressive with Allen high-pointing footballs, pummeling defenders as a run blocker and make plays from his middle linebacker spot.
Allen’s production, coupled with his seemingly limitless potential, has turned heads across the nation, making him one of the nation’s most highly-sought after tight end prospects.
But, unlike most high-level recruiting prospects, Allen’s summer wasn’t spent only in the weight room and summer camps or combines. No, he took an unusual path to football stardom.
Basketball.
We’ve all heard the countless references of guys like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzales and Jimmy Graham, all tight ends that doubled as basketball stars and Allen is no different.
His post-ups look the same regardless of if he’s in cleats or shoes, but he credits much of his success to his summer spent playing with and against the nation’s best high school basketball players in the Elite Youth Basketball League.
You may have heard of some of Allen’s teammates, guys like Michael Porter (No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2017) and 4-star guard Trae Young.
“I think I owe all of it to basketball really, it gave me confidence,” said Allen. “Most of the guys in the EYBL if they did play football would be really good football players. If I can bang with them inside and push them around then there’s no way I can’t block this defensive end.”
Allen held his own in the post playing for perennial power MoKan Elite and, despite not making the rounds on the summer high school football circuit, attention picked up following a monster senior year that saw Allen haul in 33 receptions for 654 yards and seven touchdowns, all team-highs. Defensively he added 92 tackles, 14 total tackles for loss and an interception.
What had been offers from places like Missouri State and Southern Illinois soon grew to the likes of Wyoming and UCF. The Big 10’s Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana all offered within a two-day stretch in November.
And that was just child’s play…
The big dogs came calling in December with Michigan and Florida State offering Allen on Dec. 14th and Dec. 16th respectively. The Seminoles currently hold a commitment from Nixa’s all-American kicker/punter Logan Tyler.
“I went through a span where I got three Big 10 offers in two days and at that point I thought these are some big-time schools and big-time places, I could see myself playing at this level,” said Allen. “Then on a Friday I got followed by Jay Harbaugh and he messaged me and got my number. On Monday I got a phone call, I was actually taking a nap, but it said Michigan on the caller I.D. and I hear the name Harbaugh. I had to compose myself. I was star struck for a little bit but it was great talking to those guys but it’s really unbelievable.”
Allen added: “We’ve (Logan and I) been joking about it before. He would say that when the Florida State coaches come he’s going to introduce him to me but I never really thought of it as a possibility until things happened recently. Michigan and Florida State are major recruiting rivals and Harbaugh and Jimbo will do some things to needle at each other and I think I might have been a pawn in that game but I’ll take it. I called Logan right after I got a call from Florida State and he was ecstatic about it. We might take an official together.”
Mizzou and Nebraska have also offered since then, with other top programs such as Oklahoma State now showing interest.
That list could continue to grow as Signing Day quickly approaches.
Twitter goons have already begun “recruiting” Allen as well, tweeting at him reasons why he would look good in that school's uniform. He remains unphased by it all, not surprising considering his 4.0 GPA and 33 ACT score.
He also has the support of an athletic family.
Dad, Terry, was at one point the all-time winningest coach in the history of the Gateway Football Conference, going 75-26 with seven playoff appearances in eight seasons at Northern Iowa. Allen also spent five years as the headman at Kansas followed by nine years at Missouri State.
His cousin, D.J. Vokolek, is the associate head coach at D-1 Buffalo and his sister, Angie, is a sophomore on the rowing team at Kansas.
Coach Allen is no stranger to the madness that is modern recruiting.
“He says every day that it’s fun to be on the other side of the table with those things. All the coaches are so connected and he knows most of the guys that have been reaching out to me and such. The best advice he’s given me is really to just make a decision based on the best fit for you. There is a lot of pressuring that goes along with the recruiting process and he taught me how to weather the coaches’ different techniques as well.”
Allen has not been shy in voicing his desire to play for a program that has a great academic base as well; so if you don’t have his major, good luck.
“Academics is a really big part for me as well. I want to go into an engineering program so that is one of the prerequisites for whatever school I’m looking at. If they don’t have an engineering program then I’m not really considering them.”
With just a month until Signing Day, Allen has an official visit planned for the weekend of Jan. 16 at Michigan. It will be his second official visit (he visited Minnesota on Dec. 4) and he plans on visiting his future program, officially or unofficially, before making a decision.
Scheme is also a factor for Allen and playing for a program that could best utilize his pass-catching ability is important.
Still, with offers from four of the five power conferences, Allen hasn’t completely closed the book on playing basketball collegiately, saying “I still have open ears for basketball and I told myself that I’m going to go to college and play whichever sport gives me the best opportunity to get an education and right now that has presented itself as football but if anybody wants to jump in basketball wise that’s something I still want to consider. I love both sports.”
The next five weeks will also be an equally hectic time in Allen’s life with high school basketball games, official visits and coaches blowing up his phone and sliding in his DMs. While inquiring minds continue to speculate as to which program is the favorite to land Allen, as of now there is no timetable for making a decision, nor is there a clubhouse leader.
“I don’t really have a dream school. I don’t have a school that I’ve always wanted to go to, I just want to find the school that is the right fit for me… If it has to be on Signing Day when I do make the decision so be it but I feel like once I find the right place for me it’ll be a no-brainer.”
Much remains to be sorted out, but one thing is certain: some coach in some sport is getting a great athlete.
