By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine
I watch a lot of high school football, and one position you can’t hardly find in high school if you’re a college scout is a kid who plays center and looks the part with good grades, great feet, and plenty of strength.
Chris Allen from Captain Shreve High School is that kid. He plays center in high school and looks like a starting DI center already — with all the intangibles to be great in college.
With most O-Linemen they sign, most college coaches will tell you they have to move a kid who played offensive tackle or guard to center once in college to learn the position from scratch.
So if I’m a smart college coach, I take someone like Chris Allen, a 6-3, chiseled 275-pounder I don’t have to teach the position to in college; instead, I can just help make him better over time.
I thought after watching film from his junior year that he was the best center prospect in Louisiana for DI colleges in the Class of 2022, and now he is the best in the Class of 2023 to me.
Here’s his high school position coach, Adam Kirby, sharing what he thinks of his star center:
“Chris is the best high school center in Louisiana. His work ethic and knowledge of the game is unmatched at the high school level. He’s tall, long and physical and can work to a shade defender or handle a head-up nose guard.
“He is always looking to learn and grow his craft and is a film junkie who has taken a leadership role with the younger players in our offensive line room. I’ve coached a two-time Remington Award Winner and five All-Americans over the course of my career, and Chris has the potential to be the best one I’ve ever coached.
“He is everything you want in an offensive lineman and exemplifies what it means to play the position. He currently has offers from ULM, Monroe, Tulane, Grambling, and Northwestern State. And I expect him to gain more as the season progresses.”
“Coach Kirby has had a positive impact on my life,” Allen said. “Our story is when he saw me the first day he got here, he told me he was going to make me a DI center. What’s crazy is that I’d never played center before. Better yet, I had never played football until I got to high school. Coach Kirby is a good man and we’re going to be lifetime friends.”
Notes on Chris Allen: Hobbies are basketball and music. College major is Sports Management. Most of his family played either football, basketball, or ran track. His favorite colleges are Grambling, LSU, Michigan, and Ohio State because “they are all winners,” he said, “and send players to the next level.”
Contact Lee at LBrecheen@aol.com
