A version of this story was posted earlier today.
We reworked it a bit for its current slot:
Jack Allen driven 'for the good of the team'
Ricardo Cooney
SpartanMag.com Staff Writer
Talk about it in The Underground Bunker
EAST LANSING - During Michigan State's spring football season, senior offensive lineman Jack Allen said being one of six finalists in voting for the Rimington Trophy (awarded to the nation's best center) would serve as part of his motivation for having a successful final season as a Spartan.
Allen's answer came after he had once again been asked about the holding call during Jeremy Langford's apparent 11-yard touchdown run vs. Ohio State. The flag denied MSU what could have been a two-touchdown lead over the Buckeyes at halftime in the game that decided the champion of the Big Ten's East Division.
The flag resulted in a field goal attempt, which missed - followed by an OSU touchdown, and a far different vibe for the rest of the evening, and the season.
Robert Hendricks
Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Jack Allen wants to be one his team's leaders this season.
The Buckeyes went on to win that contest 49-37 before destroying Wisconsin 59-0 in the conference's title game en route to an eventual national championship.
OSU's run to the national title is something MSU seems capable of matching in 2016, after consecutive 11-win seasons and Top 5 national finishes in the polls. A senior-loaded roster that knows and understands what it takes to put itself in a position to make a national title run begins, in some ways, with Allen - the man who initiates every offensive play. He's also the man QB Connor Cook relies upon to make adjustments to blocking schemes and protections just seconds before each snap.
Now, Allen is making adjustments to some of his stated goals and intentions. Apparently, after reviewing his spring response to the question about the flag, and some soul searching, Allen has changed his answer a bit. When asked again, during Media Day in early August, about the Rimington Trophy, and the penalty against the Buckeyes, his answer and philosophy were decidedly different.
"I'm not really worried about things like that. All I can focus on is how well I play for my teammates and Michigan State,'' said Allen, who has 30 starts at center and five at left guard. "Luckily, I've had coaches and people like Ken Mannie to help keep me humble. So my main motivation, the chip that I've held onto, has come from those coaches, scouts and evaluators who said I either wasn't big enough, wasn't fast enough or wasn't strong to play at this level for Michigan State. Actually, I think most of the schools and a lot of coaches in the Big Ten didn't think I would be good enough to play at this level. So the fact that I have been able to find some success at this level with this team means so much more.''
That being said, Allen is still just the fourth center in MSU history to be named a first team All-American at his position. And he will probably garner All-America status again this season, if he continues to build off of what he has done in his first three seasons as a Spartan.
But Allen wants something bigger - for himself and his teammates. And he wants to do it by being one of the leaders behind MSU's success.
That's why Allen has abandoned all talk of individual success for a chance to lead his team to the same trek the Buckeyes enjoyed last season as eventual national champions.
So much so, that the 6-foot-2, 296-pound lineman was clear about his desires for the 2015 Spartans. Clear enough for him to admit that he has been working on something during the offseason that has really never been a part of his training: stepping outside of his comfort zone to become more of a vocal leader.
Robert Hendricks
Expect more vocal leadership from Jack Allen.
"I've had good role models in that area,'' he said. "I look at guys likeKirk Cousins and Joel Foreman and see how they handled themselves as leaders and how much the team respected them and what they had to say and I think I can do that. I'm still not where I need to be as a vocal leader because that's never been me in the past. Ever since I started playing football, I was always that guy that led by example. I was told or taught what to do and did that on the field and that's how I was a leader. But I understand that you have to be a guy that's willing to stand up, and step up and out of your comfort zone for the good of the team and your teammates.''
Part of the culmination in that training will be revealed when Allen delivers - at some point during August camp - his senior speech. It's a rite of passage for every senior, throughout the course of preseason practice.
"I've got some things written down that I want to say but I know there's got to be other stuff that I talk about that comes from the heart,'' he said. "And most of that will be about what it's meant to be a part of this program and play with these guys. It really has been an honor to be able to play here.''
And what would it mean for him to be named a captain during his final season in green and white? Well, even though he is not as polished a speaker as he would like to be, Allen had no problem expressing what it would mean to be named one of the team's leaders by his peers.
"I'm not going to say it's the only thing I've thought about because I still have a job to do whether I'm in that position or not but, yes, I would consider it an honor if these guys thought enough of me and about me to have me represent them as one of the leaders," he said.
If that's the case and Allen is fortunate enough to earn the honor of being named a captain, you get the sense that that would hold so much more meaning for him than any postseason honor ever could have during his tenure.
And it would just fuel his fire to deliver, first and foremost, for the good of the team.
We reworked it a bit for its current slot:
Jack Allen driven 'for the good of the team'
Ricardo Cooney
SpartanMag.com Staff Writer
Talk about it in The Underground Bunker
EAST LANSING - During Michigan State's spring football season, senior offensive lineman Jack Allen said being one of six finalists in voting for the Rimington Trophy (awarded to the nation's best center) would serve as part of his motivation for having a successful final season as a Spartan.
Allen's answer came after he had once again been asked about the holding call during Jeremy Langford's apparent 11-yard touchdown run vs. Ohio State. The flag denied MSU what could have been a two-touchdown lead over the Buckeyes at halftime in the game that decided the champion of the Big Ten's East Division.
The flag resulted in a field goal attempt, which missed - followed by an OSU touchdown, and a far different vibe for the rest of the evening, and the season.
Robert Hendricks
Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Jack Allen wants to be one his team's leaders this season.
The Buckeyes went on to win that contest 49-37 before destroying Wisconsin 59-0 in the conference's title game en route to an eventual national championship.
OSU's run to the national title is something MSU seems capable of matching in 2016, after consecutive 11-win seasons and Top 5 national finishes in the polls. A senior-loaded roster that knows and understands what it takes to put itself in a position to make a national title run begins, in some ways, with Allen - the man who initiates every offensive play. He's also the man QB Connor Cook relies upon to make adjustments to blocking schemes and protections just seconds before each snap.
Now, Allen is making adjustments to some of his stated goals and intentions. Apparently, after reviewing his spring response to the question about the flag, and some soul searching, Allen has changed his answer a bit. When asked again, during Media Day in early August, about the Rimington Trophy, and the penalty against the Buckeyes, his answer and philosophy were decidedly different.
"I'm not really worried about things like that. All I can focus on is how well I play for my teammates and Michigan State,'' said Allen, who has 30 starts at center and five at left guard. "Luckily, I've had coaches and people like Ken Mannie to help keep me humble. So my main motivation, the chip that I've held onto, has come from those coaches, scouts and evaluators who said I either wasn't big enough, wasn't fast enough or wasn't strong to play at this level for Michigan State. Actually, I think most of the schools and a lot of coaches in the Big Ten didn't think I would be good enough to play at this level. So the fact that I have been able to find some success at this level with this team means so much more.''
That being said, Allen is still just the fourth center in MSU history to be named a first team All-American at his position. And he will probably garner All-America status again this season, if he continues to build off of what he has done in his first three seasons as a Spartan.
But Allen wants something bigger - for himself and his teammates. And he wants to do it by being one of the leaders behind MSU's success.
That's why Allen has abandoned all talk of individual success for a chance to lead his team to the same trek the Buckeyes enjoyed last season as eventual national champions.
So much so, that the 6-foot-2, 296-pound lineman was clear about his desires for the 2015 Spartans. Clear enough for him to admit that he has been working on something during the offseason that has really never been a part of his training: stepping outside of his comfort zone to become more of a vocal leader.
Robert Hendricks
Expect more vocal leadership from Jack Allen.
"I've had good role models in that area,'' he said. "I look at guys likeKirk Cousins and Joel Foreman and see how they handled themselves as leaders and how much the team respected them and what they had to say and I think I can do that. I'm still not where I need to be as a vocal leader because that's never been me in the past. Ever since I started playing football, I was always that guy that led by example. I was told or taught what to do and did that on the field and that's how I was a leader. But I understand that you have to be a guy that's willing to stand up, and step up and out of your comfort zone for the good of the team and your teammates.''
Part of the culmination in that training will be revealed when Allen delivers - at some point during August camp - his senior speech. It's a rite of passage for every senior, throughout the course of preseason practice.
"I've got some things written down that I want to say but I know there's got to be other stuff that I talk about that comes from the heart,'' he said. "And most of that will be about what it's meant to be a part of this program and play with these guys. It really has been an honor to be able to play here.''
And what would it mean for him to be named a captain during his final season in green and white? Well, even though he is not as polished a speaker as he would like to be, Allen had no problem expressing what it would mean to be named one of the team's leaders by his peers.
"I'm not going to say it's the only thing I've thought about because I still have a job to do whether I'm in that position or not but, yes, I would consider it an honor if these guys thought enough of me and about me to have me represent them as one of the leaders," he said.
If that's the case and Allen is fortunate enough to earn the honor of being named a captain, you get the sense that that would hold so much more meaning for him than any postseason honor ever could have during his tenure.
And it would just fuel his fire to deliver, first and foremost, for the good of the team.
