RECRUITING: A Complete Back

TigerRag.com catches up with LSU’s latest commitment Dominique Allen

by Daniel Mingea III
Tiger Rag Recruiting Analyst

(At left) Dominique Allen (Photo couurtesy of Rivals.com)

Most of the time it is the offensive line the receives much of the credit for opening up holes for a successful ground game. No doubt the hog-mollies are worth every penny, but there is nothing better than a running back having a road-warrior of a fullback leading the way, destroying anyone within his reach.

On November 16th LSU added Henry County High School product Dominique Allen to its class of 2009. Allen will be a dream come true for fellow class of 2009 running backs, Dexter Pratt and Michael Ford as it is likely Allen will be paving the way for gamebreaking runs for years to come.

The 3-star prospect has already made a name for himself at the prep level in Tennessee as he was an All-State selection as a junior while rushing for 1,500 yards including 30 touchdowns as a junior.

This season however, the 6-foot, 250-pound monster has provided a different role for his team.

“We’re 13-0 right now and we have one more game this weekend against Hillsboro High School before the state chamiponship game,” Allen informed. “They’re a really good team, but if we play like we’re capable of, I think we’ll beat them.

“My stats are a little down from last year because a lot of the teams we played last season are the same ones we played against this year and they’ve been keying on me,” Allen continued. “So I haven’t been running as much this year. Instead, I’ve been blocking more, opening up holes for our two speed backs. I believe I did better at blocking this season than anything else. That was the one thing I knew I had to work on to become a complete back.”

With Allen’s ground-game skills along with his size and power, he should have a legit shot at making an immediate impact on the Tigers offense in 2009. That is one of the many reasons he selected the Tigers over schools such as Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.

“LSU is a good place to be,” Allen admitted. “This year hasn’t been a winning season for them, but I still love it down there. Them losing a few games hasn’t had an effect on me at all. I’m going to LSU no matter what.”

According to Allen, some of the Tigers’ struggles this season came as expected although the recent loss to Ole Miss was not one of them.

“I really thought LSU would pull it out and beat Ole Miss,” Allen claimed. “I was there for their great comeback against Troy and I thought it would have made them more hungry for this past game. I guess having quarterbacks without a lot of experience kind of cost them.”

One of the quarterbacks Allen has taken a liking to will be joining him in LSU’s class of 2009. It appears the two of them have already hit it off.

“I’ve been talking to Russell Shepard a lot,” Allen stated. “I met him when I was visiting LSU a couple of weeks ago and he seemed like a great guy. Lately we’ve been talking about possibly rooming together once we get to LSU.

“He knows a lot about recruiting, but I do not really pay too much attention to that stuff,” Allen concluded. “Plus, I already know we’re going to have the best recruiting class because I have a good feeling we’re going to close out this class strong.”