True freshman WR Markus Allen feeling confident, fast and drawing praise
A Wisconsin true freshman drawing a comparison to a current standout NFL wide receiver? That's quite a compliment for a player who reportedly received 17 total offensive snaps in 2021.
That said, the Badgers can use a player of those characteristics next season with Danny Davis, Kendric Pryor and Jack Dunn moving on -- even if said comparison was made in regards to just one practice session performance.
Wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted was asked last week, with those aforementioned seniors departing, who would be the next ones in line that need or could step up with bowl prep practices heading into spring ball. The second-year Wisconsin assistant glowed about sophomore Chimere Dike -- who has caught 18 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown this season -- in previous questions and subsequent answers during his availability.
Whitted kicked off his reply with former four-star wide out Markus Allen's actions from a day prior.
"Markus is a guy that, obviously his practice yesterday was reminiscent of a guy that I coached at Colorado State, Michael Gallup, as far as his play strength and his ability to go up and make contested catches and really just playing faster," Whitted said on Dec. 15. "Play speed, but using his size, and his God-given ability to his advantage, and he's doing a great job of that."
“I think over the course of the season, he's learned the standard of practice. He's learned how to practice, and it's starting to show. He's playing faster and more confident in everything that he's doing right now, and that's really good to see because that's why we brought him here. He's on the right track. He's progressing in a good way."
Again, Whitted discussed just one practice of Allen's, but his pupil's name emerged as a popular one amongst his peers. Though not a robust sampling of sessions, BadgerBlitz.com asked several players last week about who has stood out in some form or fashion. Quarterback Graham Mertz, left tackle Tyler Beach, cornerback Faion Hicks and safety Collin Wilder all referenced Allen.
"Markus Allen had some great plays today," Wilder said on Dec. 14 regarding the younger players. "He was catching the ball all over the place. Great to see that. Great to see his improvement throughout the year, especially in the last several weeks, I've definitely seen a turn for him."
Gallup, a third-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys, has recorded 188 receptions between the 2018-21 seasons, averaging 15 yards per reception on way to 14 career touchdowns. His standout year came in 2019 where he reeled in 66 catches for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns.
In college, Gallup claimed consensus All-America honors and was a Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2017 as he hauled in 100 throws for 1,413 yards and seven touchdowns. That came under the guidance of Whitted, who also mentored NFL wide receivers Rashard Higgins, Preston Williams, Bisi Johnson while in the Rams' program.
Allen believes his position coach's words were "a praise."
“Watching what Coach Whitted has done with him at Colorado State and showing me film of him, I feel like our game resembles a lot," Allen told BadgerBlitz.com on Dec. 16. "I feel like that's a good comparison."
Allen has only played in two games, receiving 17 offensive snaps during the 2021 regular season according to Pro Football Focus. He has officially caught two passes for 34 yards while recording one rush for four yards.
The former four-star prospect and No. 247 player in the country believes his adjustment from high school to the college game has "been a big learning curve," in his words, with the speed at the next level and becoming comfortable.
"Because I came like from high school, knowing that offense like the back of my hand, and then coming in here, I had to relearn everything," Allen said. “It was just basically going back to the basics, learning everything at the receiver position, the techniques and everything. Then now, the game is getting slower to me because I'm getting more comfortable in the offense."
Allen entered Wisconsin's program as one of two scholarship wide receivers for a 2021 class that finished No. 15 in the nation in Rivals.com's program rankings. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound prospect believed he was taking steps during the bowl prep practices because of his confidence.
“My confidence is getting back to what it was before I got in here," Allen said. "I'm feeling more comfortable in the offense. The chemistry between me and Graham and Chase [Wolf] and any quarterback that's back there, I feel like our chemistry is getting better. And so we've been connecting on fade balls, dig routes, hinge routes, everything.
“So I feel like the confidence is getting there, and I'm finally getting back to myself and getting back to playing football fast.”
Allen's most productive game in 2021 came during his collegiate debut at Rutgers during a 52-3 Wisconsin win on Nov. 6. He played 13 snaps total with the game firmly in hand, according to PFF. He recorded his lone receptions and only carry against the Scarlet Knights that afternoon.
That cross-divisional victory greatly helped Allen, according to the receiver. The true freshman noted how his confidence was low at that time, experiencing frustration of not playing.
“But then I had to actually let reality kick in and check my own self," Allen said. “Like, ‘OK, am I doing everything in my advantage to play? Then also who's in front of me, just because we had seniors coming back, but that really helped me get more confidence. It helped me believe that I can still be the player who I want to be, and I can still have the dreams and aspirations that I want to have.
“So I kept going after that, just kept building upon that, even in practice and everything, and then all the way up to Minnesota, got a little bit of ticks. I just want to keep building on that in the bowl prep, and then going into next season, too."
Discussing that lack of confidence and frustration, Allen recalled conversations with his father, mom and uncle. Those talks helped the true freshman re-center, assess himself and what effort he was putting in.
"It was really just more of let's not be frustrated. Let's actually step back and look at, are you doing everything that you can do? And that means giving every play 100%, doing what's right, doing what's needed. Honestly, I was being true to myself, I wasn't giving every play 100%. So then that's when I realized, OK, I didn't come her to joke around. I came here to play football. So I'm gonna do what I need to do on the field and off the field so that I was taking care of everything.
"Then I feel like when I started taking care of that, that's when I started seeing success with coach Whitted and everything, more reps and everything, so I felt that helped a lot.”
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst loved Allen's response to that time where confidence was down. He believes the first-year Badger can have an influence on his program.
“I thought the way he finished out kind of our regular season and certainly in bowl prep, he's been really good and been able to get a lot of reps," Chryst said on Monday. "I think he's coming out with great purpose. I think Chim's done a great job of kind of taking him under his wing and, ‘Alright, this is how you go approach walkthrough. This is how you approach this.'
“We were really excited when he came. Even when he was going through his lull, I loved being around him every day. I think he's obviously talented, and I think he's a guy that can truly make an impact on this team.”
One area Allen believes he has taken a leap forward in is his route-running. The 6-foot-1 receiver also referenced his ability to play fast and becoming more physical when going against defensive backs smaller than or the same size as him.
Whitted, when discussing Allen's skillset, called out his size and play strength, along with having "some twitch" on his 215-pound frame.
“He's starting to run well," Whitted said. "He's starting to open up his strides when he's running his routes, he's being aggressive at the top of his routes. His play strength is showing up, his ball skills are showing up. He can go make contested catches, and I think he's getting confident. I think he's starting to come into his own as far as understanding and knowing the offense, and really just using his abilities to his advantage. Excited about him and he's going to help elevate the room in that regard."
"Chimere Dike is in the same mold. I can depend on him, and he's a competitive guy that loves ball and wants to win. Just those two in general are what you want to have to start your room to help bring those other young guys along.”
Whitted told reporters that Dike is now the leader in the wide receiver room in regards to his preparation and routine, setting a standard. How Allen and others step up during bowl prep practices, winter conditioning and spring ball will be a storyline to watch for the 2022 season.
Allen said his goal at the moment is to focus in on Arizona State while keeping the confidence and attacking practice every day. Heading into the offseason, a few areas stand out to him to improve upon, which includes his speed and route running. He also hopes to improve the chemistry not just between he and Mertz, but all the receivers and the quarterback in becoming even closer than this year.
The potential of Wisconsin's aerial attack "could be very good," according to Allen.
"The potential is actually high. We got a lot of dudes. We even have dudes this year. Just a year didn't go as we wanted to, and I thought we could clean up a lot of mistakes that we made this year and come back better in 2022. I feel like that's what we're going to do.”
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