At first, when he broke his leg, Armando Allen’s goal was to get back as quickly as he could to help out his Hialeah Miami-Lakes teammates, but Allen’s coach squelched those plans. Knowing that Allen is one of those once in a blue moon running backs, the coach decided that proper healing was far more important than a high school season so football is out, rehab and recruiting are in.
Originally, Allen was upset with the decision of his coach, but after taking some time to think it through completely, he understands that his coach only had his best interests in mind.
“The rehab is only supposed to take two weeks, but my coach isn’t going to let me play,” Allen said. “It was tough on me at first but [coach] told me that we need to think about my future.”
Wherever he goes to school to play college football, Allen will enroll early. He has already completed all of his high school course work so he can graduate in December and be on campus in January. He’s finishing up with a pretty might schedule.
“Classes are going good,” he said. “I just go in the morning to two classes and then leave school by eleven and then go home and rest.”
Without all the practice time and games on the weekends to concentrate on, Allen has taken more time to contemplate the schools that are hot on his trail. Three schools have been there from the beginning — Florida Notre Dame, and Duke — and he plans to visit all three before he commits.
“Right now the schools I am looking at are the one’s giving me the better vibes,” he said. “When I take my visits I am going to see who makes me feel like home and where I need to be. I am visiting Notre Dame this week and that will be my first. I plan on taking a trip to Florida too, but am undecided about when that will be just yet. I am also going to take a trip to Duke, but no one else right now.”
These are the three schools that started recruiting Allen hard and fast before anyone else. They’ve been with him all along and he’s very comfortable with all three.
NOTRE DAME: “Florida and Notre Dame came by in the spring and made it known the opportunities I would have. Besides that, they [Notre Dame] have been loyal with me from that day on. They have been there the whole time, so that’s why I am sticking with them.
“It’s a good offense, the way they use their running backs is like the pros do.”
FLORIDA: “There are a lot of things to like about them. They have a good coaching staff, they really do. They are real family people. They really get to know you as a person and not just because of football. They want to know everything about the person they are recruiting. Plus, they make you feel like home. It’s a good style of football. They had the number one class last year and they might have it this year.”
“With the Florida offense I see they run the ball a lot and I see they put [the running back] at receiver too. I like that because I like to show my talents in other ways. They utilize their running backs in more ways than Notre Dame.”
One thing he has really noticed about the Gators is that they are not afraid to play true freshmen that will help them win games. The Gators are playing 14 true freshmen this season and some are in big time roles on the team. Playing early is something Armando Allen would like to do.
“They really have me thinking that whoever works the hardest will compete. That is something I really like, because I am going to work hard.”
DUKE: “My quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is visiting Duke. They have been with me from early on, so I can’t knock them off. Their academics are also some of the best.”
Allen stated that he has no timeline for a final decision right now and that he is not sure if he will schedule the last two visits he has left. The Florida Gators would love for him to take a visit late in the season and decide he wants to be in orange and blue.