Question for Nate and others in the know

[TheChosenOne]

I was curious what people know about Bryant Allen. I know SLU is interested in him and has offered for basketball and being a big Mizzou fan I know the Tigers have extended an offer for football. Has he given any kind of an indication what sport he will be playing in college? If he decides to play football I can't imagine he will find a better suitor for his talent than the Tigers of Ol' Mizzou. From what I hear this kid is a special athlete and will succeed at whatever sport his pursues. I just hope that if he decides to go with hoops that he signs with the Billikens and if he decides on football that he heads two hours west on 70.

[Guest BillikenReport]

From what I've heard, it doesn't seem like anyone knows what Bryant Allen is going to do.

I don't like SLU's chances of getting Allen. When SLU had its Elite Camp, Allen decided instead to go to Murray State's camp, where Jamall Walker was an assistant coach (but has since moved on to Ohio U.). So that would indicate to me that Allen isn't interested in going to SLU.

I do think Allen would be better off playing basketball in college. He doesn't have great size for either sport, really, but I think he'd have to put on a lot of weight and get a lot stronger to play college football. I could see him going to a mid-major type basketball school and contributing quite a bit as a true freshman, but at least needing a redshirt year and maybe an additional year or two to make an impact on a college football team.

But he's a very talented kid, has lots of good options and has a bright future. I know he's being pulled in a lot of directions by football and basketball coaches and probably friends and family. It's a tough decision.

[Cowboy]

nate, not to steal from your site, but do you hear anything good on our recruiting front, even in general?

[Guest BillikenReport]

nate, not to steal from your site, but do you hear anything good on our recruiting front, even in general?

There isn't much info out there. Now that the AAU season is over, I'll be catching up with as many of SLU's recruiting targets as I can to find out what they are thinking. Usually, after the July evaluation period ends, the players have a much better idea of where they stand with recruiting, what schools they are really interested in and things like that.

Even after missing out on some nice players, like Tyler Griffey, Scott Wood, Bobby Capobianco and (more than likely) Matt Vogrich, the Billikens are still in on some interesting prospects that don't get much publicity on the network sites like Scout.com and Rivals.com. There was one kid at the SLU Elite Camp I really liked that I hadn't heard anything about before — or since — that I'd like to see the Billikens get.

One of the negatives about SLU's big incoming recruiting class, even though it's a talented group, is I would guess that whatever prospects the Billikens have targeted might take more of a wait and see approach before deciding to go to SLU. For instance, the Billikens don't need a player like Bryant Allen as much as they did before because they've got some guard depth now in Kwamain Mitchell, Ruben Cotto and Femi John in addition to Paul Eckerle returning. That said, a player like Allen could still fit because he might shoot the ball better than any of those guys, or maybe the guys not named Cotto.

Recruiting last year was easier because SLU just needed to bring in as much talent as possible and had lots of playing time to offer. Now, who really knows which of the incoming freshmen are going to step up and contribute significantly right away ... or which might not last more than a year? I hope that makes sense.

[willie]

From what I've heard, it doesn't seem like anyone knows what Bryant Allen is going to do.

I don't like SLU's chances of getting Allen. When SLU had its Elite Camp, Allen decided instead to go to Murray State's camp, where Jamall Walker was an assistant coach (but has since moved on to Ohio U.). So that would indicate to me that Allen isn't interested in going to SLU.

I do think Allen would be better off playing basketball in college. He doesn't have great size for either sport, really, but I think he'd have to put on a lot of weight and get a lot stronger to play college football. I could see him going to a mid-major type basketball school and contributing quite a bit as a true freshman, but at least needing a redshirt year and maybe an additional year or two to make an impact on a college football team.

But he's a very talented kid, has lots of good options and has a bright future. I know he's being pulled in a lot of directions by football and basketball coaches and probably friends and family. It's a tough decision.

Corey Frazier and Jamall Walker are very good friends. Maybe he sent him to Murray as a favor to Jamall?

[slufanskip]

From what I've heard, it doesn't seem like anyone knows what Bryant Allen is going to do.

I don't like SLU's chances of getting Allen. When SLU had its Elite Camp, Allen decided instead to go to Murray State's camp, where Jamall Walker was an assistant coach (but has since moved on to Ohio U.). So that would indicate to me that Allen isn't interested in going to SLU.

I do think Allen would be better off playing basketball in college. He doesn't have great size for either sport, really, but I think he'd have to put on a lot of weight and get a lot stronger to play college football. I could see him going to a mid-major type basketball school and contributing quite a bit as a true freshman, but at least needing a redshirt year and maybe an additional year or two to make an impact on a college football team.

But he's a very talented kid, has lots of good options and has a bright future. I know he's being pulled in a lot of directions by football and basketball coaches and probably friends and family. It's a tough decision.

What is Allen's height and weight? What position does he play in football?

[Box and Won]

What is Allen's height and weight? What position does he play in football?

He's a QB - listed at 6'0, 160. I think his height may be generously listed.

[slufanskip]

He's a QB - listed at 6'0, 160. I think his height may be generously listed.

I wonder where he projects in college as a football player. I would guess wideout or more likely cornerback. Either way he'll need to add a good 20 lbs.

[Cowboy]

I wonder where he projects in college as a football player. I would guess wideout or more likely cornerback. Either way he'll need to add a good 20 lbs.

needed somehting to jump start the mind

looked at rosters of the nfc and afc east as they have the last 2 sb champs, i think

took all db's - so cb's, ss's, fs's, db's

avg is 5-11 and 198 lbs

lightest is 175 lbs, biggest is 222 lbs

shortest is 5-8 an tallest is 6-5

this was 96 players, half of which will probably get cut, but they are in camp

this means not much, but now i can crank out some work. i hope

[brianstl]

I wonder where he projects in college as a football player. I would guess wideout or more likely cornerback. Either way he'll need to add a good 20 lbs.

I think he could be a Maclin type of player. I am not saying he will be as good as maclin, but he has those type of skills. He is a little shorter than Maclin and he would have to redshirt to add some muscle. He would fit nicely at MU as a return man and he probably could line-up in multiple spots in MU's spread offense. He is an awesome athlete.

[Box and Won]

I think he could be a Maclin type of player. I am not saying he will be as good as maclin, but he has those type of skills. He is a little shorter than Maclin and he would have to redshirt to add some muscle. He would fit nicely at MU as a return man and he probably could line-up in multiple spots in MU's spread offense. He is an awesome athlete.

If he doesn't end up at SLU for b-ball, I hope he plays football for Mizzou.

[stlsfinest]

From what I've heard, it doesn't seem like anyone knows what Bryant Allen is going to do.

I don't like SLU's chances of getting Allen. When SLU had its Elite Camp, Allen decided instead to go to Murray State's camp, where Jamall Walker was an assistant coach (but has since moved on to Ohio U.). So that would indicate to me that Allen isn't interested in going to SLU.

I do think Allen would be better off playing basketball in college. He doesn't have great size for either sport, really, but I think he'd have to put on a lot of weight and get a lot stronger to play college football. I could see him going to a mid-major type basketball school and contributing quite a bit as a true freshman, but at least needing a redshirt year and maybe an additional year or two to make an impact on a college football team.

But he's a very talented kid, has lots of good options and has a bright future. I know he's being pulled in a lot of directions by football and basketball coaches and probably friends and family. It's a tough decision.

I'll agree with Nate on this one. I think he's better off playing basketball at the mid-major level, but I don't see him attending SLU. It's my understanding that Allen would like to play both in college, but he would need to sign for football and be a basketball walk-on. That usually doesn't work well with point guards. He spent most of his summer with the Eagles, which speaks volumes to me. Right now, football comes easy to him because he's a gifted all-around athlete. I don't think he has attended any camps or combines for football. At the high major level, he would be competing with players who have dedicated the last 6-7 years of their lives to football, whereas he is really more of a versatlie athlete who has had some local success in football. He has some big time football programs coming after him, and that's hard to ignore. If he was a high major basketball prospect, I think he would put football on the back burner.

[Guest BillikenReport]

He's a QB - listed at 6'0, 160. I think his height may be generously listed.

He's played QB in the past, but now he's a WR and DB. He would play either WR or CB in college, but I think he would need to put on at least 20 pounds to be able to withstand the physical pounding of big-time Division I college football. I wouldn't say Allen couldn't do it, but I like his chances better as a basketball player, where his size isn't as much of an issue.

I do think there is some Jeremy Maclin in Allen's football skills (at least Maclin at Kirkwood), but as a high school senior Maclin was about 6-1, 185, and Allen might be 5-11 and 155.