Notre Dame An Early Contender For Top 2022 Safety
One of the top defensive targets on Notre Dame’s board in the Class of 2022 is Fond Du Lac (Wis.) High School safety/Rover hybrid Braelon Allen, and the Fighting Irish are in good early standing for the rising junior.
Allen currently holds five offers from Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State, but is also receiving interest from many other high major programs. On top of his offers, he speaks with Clemson, Ohio State, Florida State and Penn State on a consistent basis.
The No. 116 ranked prospect by 247sports has already been to Notre Dame’s campus three times halfway through his prep career, and is developing a strong bond with the Irish coaching staff early on.
Safeties coach Terry Joseph is spearheading his recruitment right now, but defensive coordinator Clark Lea and head coach Brian Kelly are in the mix as well.
“Coach Joseph is the main coach I talk to right now,” Allen told Irish Breakdown. “We keep in contact a couple times a month. I wouldn’t say it is too frequent, but we make sure to stay in touch with each other. We are already really close. My first time on campus we pretty much hit it off, and he is definitely one of my favorite coaches of all the coaches I talk to.
“Coach Lea is another coach I speak with,” he continued. “And then, Coach Kelly a little bit as well. Coach Joseph and Coach Lea are the main two, and I have a good relationship with both of them.”
Allen made it to South Bend for a camp last June, and then returned for a game day visit for the Virginia Tech game this past season. In February, he stepped foot on campus a third time for Junior Day.
“That was a great visit,” he recalled of his time on campus in February. “I was overwhelmed by the size of the campus. I wasn’t expecting it to be as big as it was. Everyone talks about how beautiful Notre Dame is, and that is definitely true.
“I love Notre Dame Stadium and the Gug as well,” Allen continued. “All of their facilities are really nice.”
Listed as the No. 6 safety in the country on 247sports, Allen is clearly one of the better defensive athletes in his class. However, as a rising junior and already around 6-2, 215 pounds, he is getting attention from schools to play more of a hybrid role in college.
“The interpretation I received from Notre Dame is they like me at Rover, which is their hybrid safety/linebacker position,” explained the Fond Du Lac standout. “That is actually what pretty much every school is saying right now. Coach Lea and Coach Joseph haven’t directly told me that, but just in our talks they are thinking the same thing and like me at both safety and linebacker.”
As for a commitment timeline and top group, there were rumblings early on that Allen could be looking to shut down his recruitment sooner rather than later, but as of right now he is taking it day by day. More schools are reaching out and he wants to continue his visits and develop relationships with other programs.
“I honestly don’t have a time frame,” he mentioned. “I am kind of just going with it. There are a lot of places I still want to see, and a lot of places I am still interested in. But if I feel that a certain place is where I want to be, I am not going to waste any time and I’ll pull the trigger. No time table right now though.
“My interest list is honestly kind of spread right now,” Allen admitted. “I’ll talk to a coach and have some interest, but then look more into the program and I am not really interested and vice versa. But I would say right now, Notre Dame is definitely in it along with Wisconsin and Florida State. Florida State is really my dream school, so talking to them right now is really cool for me. Then I would say Michigan and Ohio State are in it as well.”
Allen is one of the more physically impressive 2022 athletes in the country. His size and athleticism stick out for a rising junior, and it will be interesting to monitor how much he grows over the next few years.
During his sophomore season at Fond Du Lac High School, Allen showed off his athletic traits in all three facets of the game. He racked up 48 total tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions and five passes defended on the defensive side of the ball. He added 726 yards combined rushing and receiving on offense to go along with six touchdowns. He also returned one kickoff for a touchdown.
Expect his production to ramp up even more as he gains more experience and continues to develop as a player.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes.
Follow me on twitter: @NathanErbachIB
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook