WR DJ Allen, Down to Two Schools, Recaps Florida Gators Official Visit
Photo: DJ Allen; Credit: Brandon Carroll
Gladewater (Texas) 2022 wide receiver DJ Allen is in a unique position as a recruit, set to make his college commitment this Tuesday to one of his two dream schools: Florida and TCU.
"Pretty much just Florida and TCU," Allen told AllGators, asked which schools are in the running for his services on Sunday following his official visit to UF. "TCU and Florida are both of my dream schools."
Traveling east for the weekend, Allen would get his first opportunity to check out the Florida atmosphere. The campus and facilities that the Gators offer surpassed his expectations.
"It's pretty nice out here," Allen said. "It was nicer than I thought it was gonna be."
Allen has recently emerged as a top target for the Gators before the 2022 recruiting cycle wraps up on Wednesday. He earned a scholarship offer from Florida's new coaching staff in December, continuing to build a relationship with UF wide receivers coach Keary Colbert, who had recruited Allen to Southern California previously.
Allen has also grown to like Gators head coach Billy Napier, a "funny dude" who, alongside Colbert, has stressed to the pass-catcher that Florida is in need of a player like him, especially considering UF's lack of wide receiver commits in this cycle.
"They need some players that can make plays after the catch," Allen explained. "They said they're going to run [an offense] kind of like they did last year at Louisiana and they're going to try to open it up some more."
Seeing that the Louisiana-Lafayette offense was dependent on a heavy dose of the ground game to open up deep ball attempts through the air, the expectation for the Gators' new-look offense was that it would shift toward a similar 60/40 style. However, Allen's comments suggest that Napier intends to utilize the skillsets of his pass-catchers at Florida with more frequency.
While it's unlikely the offense will be turned completely on its head, the Gators are slated to take a more balanced 50/50 approach to their offense to accentuate the arm talent of Anthony Richardson and the complementary personnel at Napier's disposal in year one.*
Over the last two seasons of his high school career, Allen caught 71 passes for 1,604 yards and 18 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,133 yards and 12 touchdowns on 116 attempts. Winning with effortless speed and elusiveness, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound pass-catcher can immediately fill a glaring hole where Florida skill position players are concerned.
Allen made note of the family-oriented environment that Florida's new coaching staff has established in the last two months under Napier. Visiting the school on his birthday, he shared, the coaching and support staff sang Allen "Happy Birthday," which the recruit considered to be a cool moment.
Allen will make his college decision at 1 P.M., presumably central time, on Tuesday, he announced after wrapping up his Florida visit.
What will go into that decision?
"Me and my dad are going to talk about stuff," Allen said. "Just see how everybody, how he liked it, what's best for the family, and who we can trust the most."
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