After three days of practices for the annual East-West Shrine Game, Michigan State C Brian Allen and Northern Iowa WR Daurice Fountain, both on the East squad, have left two of the strongest impressions on NFL scouts among more than 100 prospects for the 2018 draft gathered here at the all-star game.
Source: NFL.com
Less than a month after playing his final game for Michigan State, Brian Allen will work out for NFL scouts. Allen, a center, accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game for NFL hopefuls on Jan. 20 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. He capped his college career with the No. 16 Spartans (10-3, 7-2 Big Ten) in their 42-17 Holiday Bowl win against Washington State in San Diego on Thursday.
Source: MLive.com
It’s hard to run into Brian Allen or Chris Frey these days without seeing a smile on their faces. Whether it’s walking off the practice field or seeing animals up close and personal at the San Diego Zoo on Monday, the Michigan State captains are at ease these days. At ease because they were at the forefront of the Spartan turnaround, the one that landed Michigan State here on the West Coast for Thursday’s Holiday Bowl matchup with Washington State.
Source: Detroit Newd
A pair of Michigan State players earned All-Big Ten honors from the Associated Press. Senior center Brian Allen was named to the AP’s All-Big Ten second team offense while redshirt sophomore safety David Dowell was selected to the second team defense. They were the lone Spartans picked for the teams, which were released Wednesday afternoon.
Source: MLive.com
If you want to know why Michigan State’s football program is going to be OK moving forward, listen to its underclassmen speak. They get it. In part, because MSU seniors got it.“One of the most effective things I’ve learned from this senior group is just taking matters into your own hands,” junior safety Khari Willis said.
Source: Lansing State Journal
Chris Frey always approached his Michigan State captaincy as a caretaker. That meant giving up some game reps to younger players. It also meant learning about leadership, beyond just barking out commands. It meant hearing and seeing one of his brothers, Josh Butler, in the most intimate of moments after the sophomore learned his father had died, crying inconsolable tears.
Source: Detroit Free Press
He’s been through it all – the highs, the lows. He’s won a Big Ten Championship; he’s won a Cotton Bowl. He’s beaten Michigan three times and brought Paul Bunyan back to his rightful home in East Lansing. He’s also been through and fought through the adversity of a tough season.
There were at least two members of the Michigan State Spartans to play well against Notre Dame this past Saturday, while several players on the field struggled with turnovers, physicality and lack of discipline. True freshman Hunter Rison and senior Brian Allen were named to the Week 4 Pro Football Focus Big Ten Team of the Week on offense.
PFF Week 4 – B1G Team of the Week – Offense pic.twitter.com/O6m4CDQETe
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) September 26, 2017
Source: The Only Colors
Senior center Brian Allen has been named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded annually by the National Football Foundation to the nation’s top scholar-athlete. The award is also widely known as the “Academic Heisman.”
Coach Dantonio previews the game against Notre Dame. Special guests: Sr. Linebacker Chris Frey and Sr. Offensive Linemen Brian Allen
Source: Spartan Sports Network
Seven years ago this week, a 14-year-old Brian Allen sat in the Spartan Stadium bleachers and got his first taste of big-time college football with the game of a lifetime. The future Michigan State captain and three-year offensive line starter accompanied his older brother, Jack, who had recently committed to play for the Spartans, on a visit to East Lansing.
Source: MLive.com
To Byron Bullough and Brian Allen, MSU’s rivalry with Notre Dame is more than just a game. For them, it’s an opportunity to reflect upon their childhood and their roots.MSU will take on the Fighting Irish this Saturday under the lights on the national stage for the first time this season.It will be the last time these two foes will face each other in the regular season until 2026.
Source: The State News
Three days later, Brian Allen continued to give one play an expletive-laden critique. Of himself. Allen blamed himself for Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke’s fumble of a high, shotgun snap. The maul-‘em mentality of a guard needs to be tempered some as a center, Allen realized. Sure, there were a few errors by the Spartans’ offensive line in Saturday’s 35-10 win over Bowling Green. And yes, they know the run game needs work.
Source: Detroit Free Press
When Michigan State coaches and players talk about how they’d grade a performance by a position group or individual player, they’re not talking about the classic grading system where 90 percent and above is an A, 80 percent and better is a B and so on and so forth. If that were the case, MSU offensive line coach Mark Staten said nobody would ever grade out with a “winning” evaluation. With that being said, he didn’t love his guys’ first performance of the season Saturday against Bowling Green, but he certainly didn’t hate it either.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
MSU’s offensive line is mostly young and relatively unproven. But there is enough talent and experience to give the Spartans hope. Of the five expected Week 1 starters, three are first- or second-year players, yet two of them — sophomores Cole Chewins at left tackle and Tyler Higby at right guard — saw substantial playing time last season. The anchor of this group is senior captain and center Brian Allen, who could also move to guard if need be.
Source: Lansing State Journal
When Brian Allen arrived for his freshman season, Michigan State was coming off a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl victory. He saw the attitude and hard work that produced the program-record 13-win season and what took the Spartans to a 23-4 record and another conference title in his first two years with the team.
Source: MLive.com
Michigan State enters its long weekend off before the first game with two new captains. Yet Brian Allen and Chris Frey are far from unknowns. Neither redshirted as part of the 2014 recruiting class, and the two have 77 combined games played as Spartans.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Brian Allen admits his bias when he assesses how his older brother, Jack, performed as a captain for Michigan State in 2015. But he makes his case forcefully nonetheless. “In my opinion I think he’s been one of the best captains to come through here,” Allen said. “I think he did a great job of showing other guys what it’s like to be a leader and sort of giving guys a blueprint for that.”
Source: MLive.com
