Talented 2022 Quarterback Is High On Notre Dame

In-state quarterback Brady Allen is one of the top 2022 quarterbacks, and he's high on Notre Dame

The Notre Dame coaching staff has dished out their fair share of offers already in the class of 2022, but have yet to offer any quarterbacks.

Notre Dame has been notoriously picky when it comes to quarterback offers during the Brian Kelly era, and there have been multiple recruiting cycles when the staff would only offer one quarterback. Typically, the Irish staff likes to see quarterbacks work out on campus before throwing out an offer.

With COVID-19 putting a halt to on campus visits for the foreseeable future, it has put a wrench on recruiting for Notre Dame, and specifically at quarterback in 2022.

In past years, quarterback coach and newly appointed offensive coordinator Tommy Rees would have seen recruits throw by now and have a better idea of his top target(s). Despite the stalemate, there is one national recruit that has caught the staff’s attention, and he lives close by.

Fort Branch (Ind.) Gibson Southern quarterback Brady Allen has been on Notre Dame’s radar for a while now, and even though he doesn’t hold an offer yet, Allen is someone that many fans are already familiar with. The Rivals four-star already has offers from the likes of Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia, Purdue, Rutgers and Cincinnati.

According to Allen, he has also been in contact with several other programs, but with the shut downs hasn’t been able to have the spring he was expecting.

“I’ve been in contact with Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa and Northwestern on top of the schools that have offered,” Allen told Irish Breakdown. “Covid has definitely put a delay on things. I’ve been in contact with those schools a lot, most of them every week or every other week. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to camp at some of those places and visit some campuses I would have liked to get to.”

One thing that could be working in Notre Dame’s favor over other programs is that Allen has been up to South Bend multiple times and experienced Saturday game days on campus. However, he did have plans to make it back up this spring and hasn’t been able to do so.

“We were hoping to get up there before everything shut down and talk with Coach Rees,” continued Allen. “I would definitely say there are plans to get up there once things open back up.”

Allen also grew up watching Fighting Irish football and the Notre Dame brand is still very prominent in the southern part of the state.

“This part of Indiana is either Purdue or Notre Dame … there are definitely a lot of Notre Dame fans down here,” said the 2022 quarterback. “I’ve grown up watching Notre Dame pretty much every Saturday, so it has been a huge part of this area.”

Even without the offer and the spring visit, Allen keeps in frequent contact with coach Rees and is excited about the potential of possibly playing under him down the road.

“I talk with him pretty much every week or every other week, and we had a zoom call a few weeks ago too,” stated Allen. “I’ve been able to talk with him about how things are going throughout the summer, how things are going to play out and kind of their timeline with school and recruiting with everything going on.

“He (Rees) gets a lot of guys that know how to play, and obviously the fact that he played at Notre Dame would be a huge help,” Allen said. “He knows everything I would be going through. Having a guy around that has played the position at Notre Dame and knows how things work, that would be huge for sure.”

In regards to a potential Notre Dame offer, Allen has built solid relationships with the teams that have been pushing for him, but admits that it would be great to get that call from the Irish.

“Obviously, Covid-19 has affected a lot of things, but that is a great school to get an offer from,” Allen explained. “It’s one of the top schools in the country both academically and football wise, so to have an offer from there would be awesome. Like I said, I grew up watching them since I was a young kid and that would be awesome for sure. I have a lot of great offers, and the main thing is finding the right place for me.”

Notre Dame has one of the top 2021 quarterbacks in the country committed in five-star Tyler Buchner, and Brendon Clark and Drew Pyne could be on the roster as well during Allen’s freshman year.

One thing that really stuck with me in talking with Allen was his approach toward committing to a school with highly rated guys already there and the possibility of having to sit a few years before playing. He is confident in his own abilities and prepared for the challenges that college football will bring.

“It’s definitely a confidence thing,” Allen explained. “Wherever I go, I am going to have someone I need to beat out. That is just the way it is. You can go to any school and that is just the way things are. To be honest, sitting behind some guys isn’t necessarily a bad thing anyways.

You see a lot of these guys, they sit a few years and they go on and they end up playing,” continued the talented young quarterback. “It is not necessarily a bad thing. I would have time to learn the offense, but I also want to battle for a position and be able to play. Notre Dame has great players, but it’s going to be a battle if i do end up going there. It is what is and it would be the same anywhere.”

The tenth ranked pro-style quarterback on 247sports doesn’t necessarily plan on dragging out his recruitment either. He understands quarterbacks usually commit earlier on than other position groups and is prepared to do so when he knows where he wants to go.

“I would say I see myself committing earlier on,” he stated. “Quarterbacks tend to go earlier than pretty much any other position. It is a faster pace recruitment process than most other positions, so I would definitely say shutting it down early is possible.”

The 6-5, 205-pounder is an advanced pocket passer for his age. His natural size for the position certainly stands out, but he is poised and accurate in delivering the ball to all areas of the field. On film, he consistently fits the ball into tight windows and hits his receivers in stride where they don’t have to adjust to the ball and lose speed. He also shows the ability to move outside the pocket and throw accurately while on the run.

Allen has natural arm strength, but as he continues to grow and mature as a player, it should be a real positive of his game as an upperclassmen and during his college years. His feel for the game and his pocket presence should only continue to enhance as well. Don’t be surprised if Allen is Notre Dame’s first offer at quarterback in the Class of 2022.

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