Jordan Hamm
Highland class of 2021 safety Ammon Allen made plays on both sides of the ball for the Hawks on their way to a 6A state title appearance. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound athlete tallied 89 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, four passes defended, a fumble recovery and two fumbles caused. On offense he had 686 total yards and seven touchdowns.
That packed stat line earned him the Mike Haynes Award from the National Football Foundation Valley of the Sun Chapter and helped him earn his first Power 5 offer last week from the University of Arizona.
Jeff Fisch and his coaching staff has already touched base with Allen multiple times since offering.
After a great conversation with @FBCoachDBrown @chuckcecil26 I am blessed to announce that I have been offered a scholarship to continue my education & football at @ArizonaFBall @CoachJeddFisch @farrel_brock
@GregBiggins @bangulo @adamgorney @BrandonHuffman @KyleMorgan_XOS pic.twitter.com/I1JkLgJhlE— ammonjallen (@ammonjallen) January 16, 2021
“The new coaching staff there is amazing,” Allen said. “I think they’re going to do great things in the next little bit, especially with (defensive coordinator Don Brown).”
A staple of the Don Brown defense is the “viper” position, which is a safety/linebacker hybrid. The Wildcat coaching staff thinks Allen has the size and speed to fill that role.
“They like how I ‘smash,'” Allen said with a smile. “They like my size as well as a safety.”
The safety said his family may take the trip to Tucson this weekend to take a deeper look at the campus, and a decision could be coming soon.
“(Arizona) is very intriguing with the coaching staff,” Allen said. “I love them a lot and it could potentially fall together in the next week and a half.”
In addition to Arizona, Allen holds offers from NAU, Air Force, Navy, New Mexico State, Army, Eastern Michigan and South Dakota State. He also received a preferred walk-on opportunity to BYU and has been in contact with Texas Tech, ASU, Texas and Syracuse.
Allen said NAU has continued to recruit him heavily throughout the entire process.
https://twitter.com/Sports360AZ/status/1339013864185233408
Helping fuel Allen’s strong campaign was a focused offseason where he gained over 25 pounds, grew and inch and was still able to maintain his speed.
“It was a dramatic change,” Allen said. “I was looking at film and remembering my junior year. I played my game and I was pretty good, but I was smaller. (As a senior), you can tell the deference of having one year under my belt. This year I was faster in the game, I was more comfortable.”
That hard work and comfort on the field showed up in a strong senior season, and now college programs are continuing to take notice.
