The top quarterback prospect in the state of Kentucky announced a commitment to Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats on Monday.
Beau Allen, a 2020 recruit and a top priority for the Wildcats recruiting class, chose the Wildcats during a ceremony at Lexington Catholic High School.
Allen is the third member of Kentucky’s 2020 class to announce a commitment to the Wildcats within the last week, a trend four-star offensive lineman, John Young and three-star cornerback, Andru Phillips started. Like those two, Allen initially planned to announce at a later date. However, there’s something special going on in Lexington and it’s important to get a jump start.
“I just realized what I really wanted to do,” Allen told Go Big Blue Country during a conversation on Sunday. “I just want to get the class going.”
Allen is the fourth commitment for the 2020 class and the second (John Young) in-state player. In years past, Kentucky has struggled to land the best of the Bluegrass, but with recent on the field success and a banner night at the NFL draft, Big Blue Nation is buzzing about football.
Allen, a three-star prospect and No. 34 ranked quarterback in the 2020 class by 247 Sports, owned an impressive list of offers that should answer any questions about the type of arm talent Kentucky is getting. In addition to the Wildcats, Allen held offers from Georgia, Michigan, Washington State, and West Virginia.
Since Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw arrived at Kentucky in 2016, the Wildcats have leaned heavily on the running game, in large part due to the dominance of Benny Snell Jr. However, for those fans hoping to see a Kentucky offense throw the ball around a little more, Allen’s strength is his ability to fire the ball on point while in the pocket.
“That kind of offense is really great to play with their personnel. We’ve talked about how Benny Snell always had something to say about that and it was the best way for them to win games, but yes, they have expressed a desire to have a more balanced attack.”
While a commitment this early wasn’t in the plans, Allen’s friendship with fellow commits John Young and Andru Phillips is something that can jump start what they hope will be one of the best recruiting classes in program history. Not only are the three players close friends, but Allen’s father, Bill and Phillips’ father, Carlos were teammates at Kentucky in the 1980’s.
“We’re really close and we’re really great friends. We’ve definitely built a great friendship throughout the recruiting process. As for the class, I’m pretty confident in the talent we are bringing into this program and a lot of guys like UK.”
The talent in the program has been building the last few years and fresh off one of the best seasons in program history, Stoops no longer has to pitch the future to recruits. In fact, Allen, Phillips, and Young took their official visits to Kentucky the same weekend as the NFL draft and Stoops let the TV do the talking.
The trio watched the draft at Stoops house, as former Wildcats heard their names called to be NFL players. While one group saw their dreams come to fruition, another started believing it can be them some day.
“I just knew that if I do the right things in college I can be right there where they are.” – Andru Phillips
“It helped a lot. Knowing they can develop guys to that point was great to see.” – John Young
“They didn’t have to talk to us about it but I could see how great the coaches relationships are with the guys that got drafted. They didn’t have to make any pitch at all, we only had to watch all that unfold.” – Beau Allen
We used to hear why not Kentucky? Now that question doesn’t have to be asked.
