CHAPEL HILL – It’s okay to describe Marcus Allen as “pretty.”
He is.
At least that’s what Mack Brown called him Monday night.
The North Carolina Football Coach was speaking with the media following the Tar Heels’ first practice of fall camp, and when discussing his secondary, cornerbacks in particular, Brown said Allen has become “pretty” because he’s added needed weight and now looks the part of the physical, lock-down corner.
Allen laughed when told, saying his mom always tells him he has “a nice smile.” Still in chuckling mode, the junior from the Atlanta area understood it was because he’s bigger and looks the part now more than ever before.
“I filled out here,” he said, noting his mid-section and lower body.
Allen was then asked to explain the process in bulking up.
“I put on about 10 pounds of muscle with the help of the nutrition staff,” Allen said. “And the strength and conditioning staff, they just helped me put on 10 pounds of weight, because I was a little skinny last year. That was one of the main things I needed to focus on.”
Allen met with several members of the media Tuesday night following North Carolina’s second practice of fall camp. He took questions for about ten minutes ranging from his weight gain, how it can help him, having Alijah Huzzie at the other corner spot, the secondary as a whole, what he liked about Geoff Collins’ defense, and the corners playing more in press coverage.
Here are some tidbits from what he had to say:
First some of Allen’s stats:
*2023 season: 915 snaps; 49 tackles; 1 interception; 8 PBUs; 8 STOPs (plays that result in failures for the opposing offense); 65 targets allowing 42 receptions for 563 yards and 4 TDs; and a PFF of 72.4.
*Career stats: 1,090 snaps; 65 tackles; 1 interception; 10 PBUs; 11 STOPs; 79 targets allowing 51 receptions for 673 yards and 4 TDs.
*The added weight hasn’t hindered Allen’s ranginess at all, but he does “feel more explosive. That’s the main thing.”
---Plus, with UNC planning on more press coverage, Allen will jockey more with receivers going downfield this season, so the extra strength will help there, too. Note: Allen said he was at 171 last season and is 182 now.
“You can get the receivers off their landmark, which is the most important thing,” he said. “When a receiver releases, get him off his landmark and mess up the time with the QB.”
*A theme from defensive players going back to the spring is how new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins’ approach will be more successful than what the Heels have employed in recent years because it suits their talents more. Allen said it’s, “setting you up for success.”
*Allen had a meniscus injury last spring, but knew right away it wasn’t serious, so he wasn’t worried about it. He started fall camp at 100%.
*Kaleb Cost didn’t play much last season, and then spent the spring playing on Carolina’s baseball team. He practiced just three times with the football team. But Cost may well start at the star position for the Tar Heels, and Allen gladly offered his take on Cost:
“The main thing that stand out to me about Kaleb is he’s a dog,” Allen said. “He’s a competitor. He’s always going to compete, he’s always going to try to get the pick, the hard pick. He’s going to try to lay down the hit.”
*Alijah Huzzie played star last season after DeAndre Boykins was lost for the year during fall camp, even though Huzzie is a natural corner with NFL potential. He’s back at corner opposite Allen, giving UNC what Brown thinks is their best corner tandem since he returned. Allen is excited having Huzzie over there because teams often threw away from him a year ago, now they will have to deal with both the two talented corners.
