4-Star LB Sergio Allen Signs of Letter of Intent

Sergio Allen is one of the most underrated prospects to sign with Clemson in 2020. He was the 2nd player to join the class back in the Summer of 2019, and has been a tremendous representative of Clemson University both on the field and while recruiting others to join the 2020 class with him. Sergio is a perfect fit to play LB in Clemson’s scheme, and he was someone who was identified extremely early as a top target for the 2020 class. While Sergio lacks truly elite top speed as an athlete, he does have superb get off and acceleration at the snap. This will allow him to thrive in the many blitzing opportunities presented as a result of Venables defense. Allen also plays very well in space, and is not only a sound tackler, but also a polished LB for his age. He possesses great instincts and gap-shooting ability, and will likely thrive in both the MIKE and WILL roles in this defense.

While a LB haul of both Trent Simpson and Justin Flowe would’ve been incredible, Allen’s early commitment and subsequent Senior season film should ease many fans’ concerns. He is not a perfect prospect, and due to the his lack of elite size and top speed could be held back from reaching the ceilings of other LBs in this class. Having more up-to-date testing numbers could go a long way in helping Allen’s current ranking, as the only one on file is a lackluster shuttle time from the Opening Regional in Atlanta that clearly does not represent his play speed.

Because of this size issue Allen can also get caught in traffic at the Line of Scrimmage, and as a result may be better suited for the WILL role than MIKE. Allen is incredibly under-ranked at just inside the top 200, and I would imagine upon the viewing of his Senior film he receives a ratings bump. Ultimately, I expect Sergio to be a very good college LB for Clemson with the ability to be more than a starter. Here’s Allen’s Senior film.

QT’s Take

Allen was one of the first takes of this class and in my mind taking both Allen and Swint filled up the LB takes too quickly and made taking Simpson and Flowe a nonstarter for Swinney after the large 2019 class.

For me, Allen is a 150-200 level player and appropriately ranked. Tommy is very high on Allen and I agree that he should be able to excel at blitzing and working within Venables scheme. I agree with the recruiting guys, though, that his size and height are limitations and his long speed is limited. I think he has a chance to start later in his career but it will take time to develop.