90 Days Until Hawkeye Football: Brian Allen

Next up on our countdown to the start of Iowa’s 2022 football season is a freshman defensive lineman who joined the Hawkeyes in the spring.

Brian Allen – Freshman

Lake in the Hills, IL (St. Thomas More (Conn.))

6’4”, 250 lbs

2022 Projection: reserve defensive end

Allen was a fall addition to Iowa’s 2022 class after a bit of a whirlwind recruitment for the defensive end. Originally committed to home state Illinois and Bret Bielema, he decommitted and saw his recruiting profile rise with offers filtering in from Oregon, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Iowa, among others. He selected Iowa over the Ducks on December’s signing day after gaining a waiver to commit to Iowa due to director of player development Jason Manson’s previous role at St. Thomas More.

Now, one’s profile doesn’t rise out of nowhere, as Allen tallied 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss among his 44 senior season tackles. It was quite the jump from his previous seasons where he had just 40 tackles (six sacks) across three seasons. The uptick in production alongside impressive burst & hand placement saw him become a 4-star recruit according to Rivals.

As one of three scholarship defensive linemen in the class, his early entry could allow him to be in line with some of the younger guys currently on the roster (Deontae Craig and Max Llewellyn) and figure into some playing time in a backup role. His weight is already up about 10 pounds from his entry onto campus so he seems to be progressing in that regard.

A successful freshman campaign would look like continued development off the field which enables him to see the field a couple times while retaining his redshirt. Then as the smoke clears ahead of him, he can vie for a starting role in 2023.