Marcus Allen (linebacker)

Marcus Deshawn Allen (born August 7, 1996) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Marcus Allen

Allen with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020
No. 27
Position	Linebacker
Personal information
Born	(1996-08-07) August 7, 1996 (age 29) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
College	Penn State (2014–2017)
NFL draft	2018: 5th round, 148th overall pick
Career history
Pittsburgh Steelers (2018–2022)
Awards and highlights
First-team All-Big Ten (2017)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles 57 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Allen attended Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, where he was a three-year letterman. He recorded just over 150 tackles and four interceptions over his four years in high school. He was rated a four-star recruit by Scout and 247Sports and a three-star prospect by ESPN and Rivals. He was ranked as a Top 30 prospect at safety nationally by Scout and 247Sports, and rated the No. 6 prep player in Maryland by 247Sports. He was named after All-Pro and Super Bowl champion running back Marcus Allen.^[1]

Recruiting

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Marcus Allen S	Upper Marlboro, MD	Dr. Henry Wise HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	N/A	Apr 10, 2013
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (77[2])
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

College career

Playing all 13 games, starting 7, Allen recorded a total of 58 tackles with one sack and two tackle for loss. During his sophomore season he ranked second on the team in tackles with 81 only behind Brandon Bell. Had six tackles and one forced fumble vs Georgia in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl. In his junior season he ranked No. 16 in the Big Ten Conference with 7.9 tackles per game. No. 3 in the Big Ten and tied for No. 30 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with two fumble recoveries. The 22-tackle effort vs. Minnesota ranked No. 3 on the FBS single-game list in 2016 (24 - Obi Melifonwu, UConn & Rodney Butler, NMSU).^[3] In 2016, Allen also blocked the field goal that Grant Haley would return for a touchdown to upset No. 2 Ohio State, which became known as the Block Six.

College statistics

Penn State Nittany Lions
Season	Team	Games	Tackles			Sacks/Yds	TFL/Yds	Fumbles		Interceptions
			Solo	Asst	Tot			FF	FR	Defl	Int	TD
2014	Penn State	13	35	23	58	1/11	2/13	0	0	3	0	0
2015	Penn State	12	44	38	81	1/9	5/19	2	1	2	0	0
2016	Penn State	14	57	53	110	0/0	6/15	1	2	3	0	0
2017	Penn State	13	45	26	71	1/4	4/12	2	0	3	1	1
Total		52	181	139	320	3/24	17/59	5	3	11	1	1

Professional career

On November 10, 2017, it was announced that Allen had accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.^[4] On January 17, 2018, Allen played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl as part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost 45–16 to the South. Allen attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, but opted to only perform the vertical jump, broad jump, bench press, and short shuttle. On March 20, 2018, he attended Penn State's pro day and completed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, 10-yard dash, and three-cone drill. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Allen was projected to be a third or fourth round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the fourth best strong safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.^[5]

External videos
Marcus Allen's NFL Combine Workout

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 2+1⁄8 in (1.88 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m)	9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m)	4.63 s	1.57 s	2.67 s	4.32 s	7.13 s	37 in (0.94 m)	10 ft 7 in (3.23 m)	15 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Penn State's Pro Day[6][5]

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Allen in the fifth round (148th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.^[7] Allen was the 15th safety drafted in 2018.^[8] On May 10, 2018, the Steelers signed Allen to a four-year, $2.75 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $292,637.^[9]

External videos
Steelers draft Marcus Allen 148th overall

On August 31, 2019, Allen was waived by the Steelers and was signed to the practice squad the next day.^[10][11] On December 20, he was promoted to the active roster.^[12]

Allen was moved to linebacker for the 2020 season, and signed a one-year contract extension with the team on March 9, 2021.^[13]

On March 15, 2022, the Steelers placed an original-round restricted free agent tender on Allen. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30.^[14]