2022 Canes Recruiting: Jordan Allen. Can Miami bring the Louisiana cornerback to South Florida?

This week, I've decided to do more research on the 2022 cornerbacks that Miami is looking at in recruiting. I’ve already done pieces on Jacolby Spells, Earl Little Jr. and Khamauri Rogers, but today we’re going to look at 3-star CB Jordan Allen (Lafayette Christian Academy, LA).

Miami has to take 2-3 cornerbacks this cycle, and I believe Allen could be one of those commits. A fast riser in the rankings, Allen could end up being a major steal this cycle.

247 Sports has Allen listed as the #27 cornerback in the 2022 class, #18 player in Louisiana, and #464 player overall nationally. Don’t let the rankings fool you though, Allen is a playmaker, and a recruit that’ll continue to rise in the rankings as the year progresses.

Miami offered Allen in January of this year, and he’s become a top priority for the UM staff. Allen has formed a good relationship with coaches like Demarcus Van Dyke, as well as chief of staff and Louisiana native, Ed Reed, talking with them frequently.

As a junior, Allen totaled 60 tackles and 5 interceptions, earned first-team all-state honors by MaxPreps, and helped his school to a Division III state championship.

“With teammate Ryan banged up and playing more on offense, Allen stepped up on defense and was one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the country,” MaxPreps wrote about Allen.

In the state semifinals, Allen was regarded as the defender of the evening, as Lafayette Christian defeated Newman HS 21-7. Allen was shutdown all night, against a team with LSU commit 2022 WR AJ Johnson, and highly touted 2023 5-star QB Arch Manning. With Allen in coverage, Johnson finished the game with over 10 targets and no receptions.

After a stellar junior year, and having performed very well on the 7-on-7 circuit, Allen is seeing his recruitment heat up quite a bit. Earlier this month, Allen dropped his top six schools which included Miami, Louisville, Tennessee, Penn State, Georgia and Ole Miss.

He’s listed as a safety on some sites, but Allen has the ability to play cornerback, which is what Miami is recruiting him as. Looking at his film, the 6-0 182 pound Allen would be very effective playing in the slot position for corner.

In man-to-man coverage, Allen is very aggressive at the line of scrimmage, jamming receivers and taking them out of the play. Known as “Lockdown,” Allen is exactly that, and when the ball is in the air, he’s outstanding in tracking and making a play. His instincts and ability to read the receiver and QB allows him to be in perfect positions to make an interception.

With his aggressive style of play, it’s no surprise that Allen excels as a tackler as well. Whether it’s a toss sweep or the QB decides to take off and run, Allen has great awareness to get to the ball-carrier and bring them down. It shouldn’t be shocking he ended 2020 with 60 tackles as a cornerback.

Like I said earlier, I could definitely see Allen playing in the slot-corner position at the college level, and Miami would be a perfect spot for him. UM’s current slot-corner, Te’cory Couch has emerged as the teams top defender in coverage, and would benefit Allen plenty if he decided to choose the Hurricanes.

With concerns at cornerback depth for Miami, especially once they lose Al Blades Jr. and DJ Ivey following the 2021 season, I think the Hurricanes should aim on signing three CB’s for the 2022 cycle. I said this in an article yesterday, but as of right now, a realistic dream scenario would be to land Jacolby Spells, Khamauri Rogers and then Allen.

All three are recruits I think Miami has a good shot at, and all three are guys who can contribute when their time comes in college.