The Tar Heels closed the hectic month of June with a commitment from one of their top remaining targets in the 2022 class on Wednesday. Right around 3:00 PM earlier today, 2022 3✮ CB Marcus Allen announced his commitment to the Tar Heels over Auburn and Georgia Tech via social media. The commitment gives the Tar Heels their third commitment of the month and sets the stage for a July where they will hope to add some other major targets to the class.
Allen, the No. 33 cornerback in the country and the No. 35 player in the state of Georgia, is set to enter his senior season at Walton High School in Marietta, GA off a strong junior season back in the fall. He finished the season with 53 total tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and seven pass deflections on his way to first team All-Region and first team All-Cobb County honors as a leader of the Raider defense. Back in 2019, Allen earned second team All-Region honors in his first season as a varsity starter.
Allen is a very likeable prospect from looking at his film. For one, there is some versatility to his game that could make him a flexible option in the Tar Heel secondary. He has very good closing speed and instincts that allow him to make plays on the football and is a good enough open field tackler that he could get the job done at safety. However, he did succeed most on the outside as a 6’2, 170 lbs. corner his first two varsity seasons, in large part because of his strong man coverage skills and ability to get in and out of breaks smoothly, traits that the Tar Heels value in their corners in their current defensive system. He has good play speed, as well, as he doesn’t beat over the top easily and can recover if he does. Allen has shown that he can bring special teams value in all areas, especially on field goal and punt defense units. He might not be quite as ready to step in on day one and produce like some of other Tar Heels uncommitted targets, but he has a chance to be a really solid corner or safety for the team over time.
With Allen’s commitment to the class, the Tar Heels now have eight players committed to what is expected to be a smaller class. He becomes the Tar Heels second defensive backfield commit of the class, but likely won’t be the last with the Tar Heels still pushing hard for top targets in both def backfield spots. At the moment, Allen‘s commitment doesn’t seem to have any sort of effect on the Tar Heels chances to land guys like Daylen Everette or Jake Pope. The commitment moves the class up from No. 38 overall to No. 32 in the 247Sports team rankings for the class and has them up to the No. 6 class in the ACC. The Tar Heels have limited spots remaining in the class and will hope to fill those spots with some big time names, something they look to be in position to do.
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