Tyrese Allen is a soft-spoken kid who even comes off as shy when you speak with him, but when the lights and the pads are on he's one of the most aggressive trenchmen in Kentucky. College coaches are well aware of his dual personality, reflected by the fact he currently holds 11 offers.
Allen spoke with me about his current top teams, other schools he is in contact with who haven't offered, and where he plans to camp this offseason.
"WVU and WKU are leading right now. I'm also talking with Michigan State, Florida, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Kansas, Kentucky, Washington State, Illinois, UCF, USC, Wake Forrest, and TCU," said Allen.
I asked him if he was just receiving mail from these schools or if they are actually talking to him and he responded, "They hit me up."
Louisville is also still in contact with him and he plans to camp there this summer at the Cardinals' annual Light up the Ville camp. In addition, Allen plans to attend Tennessee and Notre Dame for their Summer camps. Tennessee's offensive line coach Walt Wells is the point man for the Vols here and Notre Dame grad assistant Harold Bower is communicating with Allen for the Fighting Irish. Furthermore, Virginia Tech defensive line coach Derrick Evans communicates often with Allen and the 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle may also camp in Blacksburg this summer, but details have not been hammered out yet. Finally, he mentioned that Kentucky special teams coordinator/ outside linebackers coach Dean Hood and offensive line coach John Schlarman also reach out to him often.
It appears teams are looking at Allen as both a defensive tackle and an offensive guard. The fact he projects on either side of the ball makes him more attractive as a prospect because the more positions a recruit can play, the lower the likelihood a team "misses" by signing him.
The Paintsville, KY native will also attend the Under Armour camp in Cincinnati on April, 29th and the Rivals 3Stripe camp on May, 13th in Columbus Ohio. Allen is an explosive three-technique with quick hands. He utilizes a good first step in conjunction with a savvy club and rip move while keeping his level low. I expect him to impress at both camps this spring and see his ratings rise this summer.