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What Michigan Football is getting in grad transfer Willie Allen

By Chris Peterson

Apr 22, 2017; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Louisiana State Tigers offensive lineman Willie Allen (74) warming up before the annual Louisiana State Tigers purple-gold spring game at Tiger Stadium. Purple team won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2017; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Louisiana State Tigers offensive lineman Willie Allen (74) warming up before the annual Louisiana State Tigers purple-gold spring game at Tiger Stadium. Purple team won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan football added a former four-star offensive tackle in Willie Allen, who committed to the Wolverines as a graduate transfer. Here’s the breakdown.

It’s shaping up to be a very good week for Michigan football recruiting and it started on Thursday even when former four-star offensive tackle Willie Allen, a graduate transfer, committed to the Wolverines.

As far as what it means in the immediate future, well, nothing, because Allen won’t enroll at Michigan until the spring and he won’t be eligible until the 2021 season.

But in a lot of ways, that’s perfect for the Wolverines, who are expected to lose right tackle Jalen Mayfield to the NFL draft after this season, which would be his third year in the program.

For the most part, Michigan football isn’t too active in the transfer portal and so it was a little surprising to hear Allen mention U-M among the schools in touch with him earlier this week.

And then for a decision to come down soon after was also a bit of a surprise. But for the Wolverines, it’s a good get. Back in his high school days, Allen was ranked as the No. 183 prospect overall and the No. 17 offensive tackle, which was in 2016.

What his transfer means for Michigan football?

He went to LSU but then transferred and after going to JUCO, he wound up at Louisiana Tech, where he was going to start this season before opting out. Allen is 6-foot-7, 300 pounds and with Michigan losing a pair of 2020 recruits to the transfer portal already, it makes sense to add one.

While I wouldn’t necessarily say that Allen is going to be a favorite to start or anything but if Mayfield leaves, there will be an opportunity opposite Ryan Hayes, provided he also doesn’t have a good season and bolt for the draft.

The Wolverines have recruited well at offensive tackle and guys like Karsen Barnhart, Trente Jones and possibly Zak Zinter could be in the mix, as well as incoming recruit Giovanni El-Hadi.

But having a guy with college experience isn’t a bad thing and at worse, Allen could be an effective swing tackle, someone who can backup up both positions.

There should be more good news to come Friday with the expected commitment of top-100 linebacker in 2021, Branden Jennings, a former Florida State commit.

Next. 5 Things we learned in Michigan's fall camp. dark

Michigan has been in need of some recruiting momentum and even though it looked like it would start with Jennings commitment, Allen ended up beating him to it.

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