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Notre Dame Football: Breaking Down The 4 Recent Irish Commits

By Kevin Sinclair

Oct 17, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders perform against the Southern California Trojans tat Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders perform against the Southern California Trojans tat Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame fans were just coming down from the excitement of landing 4 star cornerback Kalon Gervin when fringe 5 star defensive back Derrik Allen committed to Notre Dame.

Derrik Allen is the highest ranked defensive back Notre Dame has landed in years. He is the type of athlete who will immediately be considered for playing time as a freshman.

The only question is, which position?

He’s either an elite sized corner with good cover skills or a good sized safety with elite cover skills.

The thing that stands out to me, though, is his willingness and ability to hit and his high level of play close to the line of scrimmage.

I, as well as many analysts believe his biggest strength is at safety. Either way, Notre Dame added a dynamic player to their defensive backfield and everyone is excited about it.

The only thing about Allen’s game that I don’t feel is elite is his top speed. All of his intangibles, supreme athleticism, great size, ideal frame and superb technique make up for what he may slightly lack at this time as a junior in high school.

It is more than possible that Allen will add the strength needed to increase his top speed by the time he sets foot on campus in South Bend.

Derrik Allen makes covering fast, athletic receivers look easy. He moves in a smooth, confident, efficient manner with great pad level and discipline. His positioning on receivers is very good and his long arms allow him to keep a hand on the receiver without making too much contact.

Allen shows good ability to diagnose plays and times himself really well when breaking on the ball or applying pressure on timed blitzes. His form in regards to tackling is excellent. He hits efficiently and wraps well.

It will be interesting to see how Allen grows over the next few years. Some expect him to eventually grow into a linebacker.

I suppose that could happen, but I expect Allen to be a mainstay at the safety position. I could see him getting a look at the rover position if he reaches the 220 pound range, something that is very possible with his frame and being around 210 lbs. before his senior year.

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