Lucas: Bowl prep is big for freshman Allen and UW’s future playmakers
December 17, 2021 | Football, Mike Lucas, Bowl Central
Catching up to speed of college game, young receiver puts himself in position to make an impact
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — With all due respect to Hall of Fame basketball guard Allen Iverson, an unabashed hater of practicing, there's nothing more valuable to the growth of young, inexperienced players than bowl prep, or practices, a common denominator between all bowls, Rose to Cheez-It.
Wisconsin wide receiver Markus Allen falls into that category of a highly-touted freshman who saw limited action in a couple of games during the 2021 season and will benefit the most from the December bowl practices. Nobody knows that better than his position coach, Alvis Whitted.
"It's invaluable for him," said Whitted who went on, "He has done a great job, I feel, this whole year of growing week by week and really learning from guys like Chimere (Dike) as far as just the standard of how to practice and how to finish on blocks and plays. The maturity is starting to show up.
"He's got a high ceiling and I think he can do a lot of great things for us. He's physically able to do everything you want. And he's got a mindset of, 'I'm confident now because I know the offense.' He can be a difference-maker for us as far as the physicality part of the game and the position."
Allen was in full agreement with Whitted on the benefits of expanded repetitions with the offense during the practices leading up to Wisconsin facing Arizona State in the Dec. 30 Las Vegas Bowl. For 20 straight years and/or bowls, the Badgers have utilized this month for player development.
"For a lot of us, the bowl prep means a lot," Allen said. "They're very important, especially for someone like me just because the whole season the coaches have seen me progress, they've seen me learn as much as I can. Next year, hopefully that's our time, for the Class of 2021 to make an impact."
One player in that recruiting class already has — another Allen (no relation) — Braelon Allen, the second-leading rusher in the Big Ten with 157 carries for 1,109 yards and 12 touchdowns. Allen had a string of seven straight games over 100 rushing yards snapped in the regular season finale at Minnesota.
"All freshmen are going to have their learning curve," noted Whitted, who was instrumental in attracting Markus Allen to Wisconsin after he decommitted from Michigan. Their relationship has since blossomed. "I challenged him in certain situations on certain days and he responded."
Allen, a 4-star recruit (Rivals), garnered upwards of 30 Division I scholarship offers — generating interest from more than half of the programs in the Big Ten — during his senior year at Northmont High School in Clayton, Ohio, a Dayton suburb. He had 60 catches for 844-yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games.
What really stood out about his overall play was the clutch gene. Against Springboro, he caught a game-winning, 32-yard scoring pass with nine seconds remaining. Against Wayne High School, he caught another game-winner with 27 seconds left and finished with 14 grabs for 224 yards.
Yet he has learned the value of patience in making the jump to college football.
"Coming out of high school as a highly-recruited athlete, at first it was hard just because I really wanted to be out there, I wanted to help the team, I wanted to play," he admitted. "But in college, you have to learn you're playing against grown men. You have to adapt. The game was much faster."
On receiving a reality check, he said, "It was probably at the beginning of fall camp. That's really when Coach Whitted told me that he was going to challenge me in everything, and he was going to throw me into a lot of different situations — just to see what I could do and what I could handle.
"That's when I called my mom and said, 'Hey, I've got a lot of stuff I've got to learn still.'"
Malonya Langston has always been there for her son.
"That's my number one supporter," Allen said proudly. "She has been traveling back and forth (from Dayton), coming to the games, and I really appreciate that. We didn't know much about Wisconsin. But when she came here, she fell in love with Wisconsin.
"She's thinking about moving up here. She wants to be closer to her baby boy."
Raised in a military family, he pointed out, "My mom was in the Navy for 12 years. My dad for 24. There was discipline. But it was more about learning from everything. Mainly being on top of your priorities. My mom always made sure, 'Priorities have to be first. Do your needs before your wants.'
"Growing up, they were tough on me. But when I look back now, I'm glad they were."
Besides his mother, Allen credited the influence of his dad and stepdad in raising him. His dad's name was Eddie, he explained, but he answered to Mark. It's why he was christened as a Markus. It had nothing to do with NFL great Marcus Allen. Making a name for himself at Wisconsin is now a priority.
The Rutgers game was the first baby step in that direction. On Nov. 6, the Badgers routed the Scarlet Knights, 52-3, in Piscataway, New Jersey. In the fourth quarter, Allen saw his first action of the season and didn't disappoint. He had receptions of 22 and 12 yards and one rush for four.
"Even though it was at the end of the game, it helped just getting out there," said Allen who enjoyed every second of his 12 snaps. "Everything was coming to reality now. All my dreams were coming true, just stepping on a field, in a Division I game, at Wisconsin. It was like, 'Man, this is crazy.'
"Honestly, it helped catching those two passes because I knew I could be the same athlete, just at a different level. Coach Whitt came to me on the sidelines and said, 'I'm proud of you. You're growing.' We still have a lot of growth to do, but I feel like that was a big step towards what is coming next."
Allen was not alone in that sentiment. Whitted felt the same way and offered, "It's big anytime a young guy can get reps in a game setting, especially if they haven't played. The practices prepared him for that. Again, he's got a long way to go. But he's making strides every week."
Whitted brought up the mentoring of Dike, a sophomore, and Allen concurred, "He's helped me tremendously. He's helped me in the playbook. He's helped me in just keeping my confidence up. When I hold my head down and I have a bad practice, he'll talk to me. Same with a lot of the older guys."
Nobody has had a more pronounced impact on Allen's development than Whitted.
"I love his personality and the way he coaches and the way he knows so much about the game, especially with his resume," Allen said of Whitted, who played nine seasons in the NFL as a receiver before getting into coaching with stints at Colorado State and the Green Bay Packers prior to the UW.
"He has invested in me. I've invested in him. I trust him. And he trusts me."
Whitted has compared the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Allen to a former pupil, Michael Gallup, who was a 2017 Biletnikoff Award finalist as a senior at Colorado State. The 6-1, 198-pound Gallup had 100 catches that season before moving on to become a fixture in the rotation for the Dallas Cowboys.
From a physical standpoint, Whitted has also drawn a comparison between Allen and former Badger wide receiver Quintez Cephus (6-1, 208), who was drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Lions after leading the UW offense with 59 catches for 901 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019.
With the graduation losses of Wisconsin's top three receivers — tight end Jake Ferguson and wideouts Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor — Allen is already preparing mentally for a much different workload in the near future. And it starts through building chemistry with quarterback Graham Mertz.
"Me and Graham have a good relationship," Allen said, "and it's still growing."
The Badgers tendered two wide receivers in their 2022 recruiting class that was announced Wednesday. Allen has already reached out to Vinny Anthony (Louisville, Kentucky) and Tommy McIntosh (DeWitt, Michigan). Obviously, they both could be in a position to compete for reps sooner than later.
"I've talked to Vinny a decent amount and I've been talking to Tommy a little bit more," he said. "I've just been telling them, 'Enjoy high school. Cherish the moments you have because when you get here it's work.' Once you get to the collegiate level, it's about being consistent every day.
"I told them, 'Take care of your bodies. Be ready. And when you come in, it's full throttle.'"
Speaking to the recruiting process from a personal viewpoint, Allen said, "I'm really glad it's over. There's a lot more to it than people think. It's fun getting scholarship offers and everything. But you really have to time manage (the visits), especially being in high school with parents working.
"But I don't regret anything. I'm glad that I came here. I love the guys."
Asked specifically about his role in a run-centric offense, Allen said, "I just really believe in the system, I trust it. We're continuing to perfect the passing game. We're working on the chemistry between the quarterbacks and receivers and the route running, so everyone is on the same level."
It's why the bowl practices carry so much weight for Allen, who's working towards what's next.
"He's not there yet," Whitted allowed. "But I feel he's on track. He's on his way."
