Player Preview: Beau Allen

Lexington’s Beau Allen defines the term “Legacy” recruit. His dad, Bill, was a record breaking quarterback from Morgan County that went on to play for Jerry Claiborne in the 1980’s. Beau is a hometown star that possesses a humble yet confident approach to the game of football to go along with all the physical tools to become a high-level, SEC starting quarterback. Kentucky beat out Duke, Washington State, Georgia and several others for the services of the 2019 Paul Hornung Award winner, given each year to the top high school football player in Kentucky. Let’s take a deeper look: 

Size

Allen is 6’2," 203-pounds; perfect measurements for an Eddie Gran led offense. Long-gone are the days when 6’5" pocket passers executed a seven-step drop and stood tall behind the line-of-scrimmage while surveying the defense for four seconds prior to throwing a forty-yard spiral down the sideline. Well, not completely gone. Deep passes are still viable in the modern game. Today’s football calls for a QB that can make quick decisions and quicker throws. Accuracy and mobility, not size, are now primary QB prerequisites. 

Arm Talent

Allen’s Lexington Catholic career numbers are impressive: 11,439 passing yards and 127 touchdown passes. He is accurate. Highly accurate to be exact. As a senior, Beau completed 67.8% of his passes while throwing 38 touchdowns. He can make the short to intermediate throws necessary in the ball-control scheme while being fully capable of completing deep outs, post routes, dig (crossing routes) as well as the vertical, homerun ball. 

Between the Ears

Extremely high football IQ. This comes from being the son of an SEC quarterback and countless hours studying the game. Using a basketball term, Allen is a gym rat. Watching his tape, I see a QB with an elite knack for anticipation as he consistently threw the football before his receivers entered their break. He “threw his receivers open,” a trendy new term that accurately depicts his abilities. This may sound simple, but it shows me that he understands the route tree, defensive coverages, and intention of the play call.   Allen’s cerebral capacity is a major strength. He knows when to make the appropriate throws based on opposing fronts/coverages. In summary, he will have no problem learning a college playbook. 

What does all this mean? 

While uncertain of exactly when, I’m fully convinced that Beau Allen will eventually become the starting quarterback at the University of Kentucky.  Wilson’s health status and Joey Gatewood’s eligibility will predicate his presence in the immediate rotation. The Lexington native enjoys all the tools that a college offensive coordinator looks for in a signal caller. I’m fully confident in saying that if necessary, Allen could play and play well as a true freshman, but a redshirt year is the best case scenario for the program.   Kentucky Football 2020 Recruiting Class Player Previews: Kalil Branham, Tre'vonn Rybka, JuTahn McClain, Izayah Cummings, Earnest Sanders, Justin Rogers