Jonathan Allen is an American football defensive player who played for the Washington Redskins after being drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Like most footballers in the United States, Allen played the game in college in Alabama and was ranked second-best defender by ESPN. He was also a five-star recruit who was among the best in his class.
Jonathan Allen Biography
Jonathan Allen was born on January 16, 1995, in Anniston, Alabama. He was less than one year old when his military father, Richard Allen, a specialist in nuclear biological chemistry in the army, was transferred and had to bring the family to Pittsburgh. As an adolescent, Allen also lived in several other cities/states: South Carolina, Seattle, North Carolina, and Maryland before settling in Ashburn, Virginia, where he transferred from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake and began playing football at Stone Bridge High School. When Allen’s father enrolled him at Stone Bridge High School, he had neither plans nor the idea that it was a school district with a football power.
In his senior year, 2012, Allen was named Virginia Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year.
Family
After his parents divorced, Allen and his older brother Richard III lived apart for a while; Richard III moved in with her father, and Jonathan stayed with her mother for about five years until she disappeared when he was in the third grade and the family did not know where she was. While living with his mother, Allen led a rather unstable life, moving from one hotel to another and missing school so much that he repeated the second grade.
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This led to the intervention of South Carolina’s Department of Child Services and sparked a custody battle between Allen’s parents. In 2004, a judge ruled that the two brothers were better off with their father and stepmother, whom Jonathan Allen said he loved to death. Nevertheless, the brothers wondered what had become of their mother after she was asked to undergo a psychological evaluation before she was allowed to speak with her sons again. Jonathan Allen has two stepbrothers and stepsisters, a younger sister and a brother.
Jonathan Allen Career
Jonathan Allen committed to playing college football for the University of Alabama after graduating high school. He was ranked a five-star recruit and was among the best in his class, which earned him great recognition. He started in Alabama in 2013 as a freshman, played 13 games, and played 16 tackles. The following year and the second year Allen played all 14 games and had 12 starts.
In 2015, his commitment to the Crimson Tide led to the team winning the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2016. His college stats from 2013 to 2016 show that he played 50 games, completed 152 tackles, 44.5 defeats, 28 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles.
Analysis of the NFL and NCAA in the United States ranked Allen as a top defensive tackle and predicted that he would be among the top five tackles for the NFL draft. However, it was not as predicted after he was diagnosed with arthritis in one of his shoulders and had to undergo surgery. Still, he was the 17th player to be selected by the Washington Redskins for the 82nd NFL Draft on April 27, 2017. It was his first four-year NFL contract, with a team option for a fifth season and a value of $11.59 million including a $6.57 million guaranteed signing bonus.
Wife
The defense attorney and his wife Hannah Franklin made their covenant in July 2018 at the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and hosted their reception at the city’s Bryant Denny Stadium. The couple has been together since 2015, after meeting in a study hall class. Allen proposed to his then-girlfriend on April 17, 2017, ten days before he joined the Redskins via the NFL draft.
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Body Measurements
Height: 6′ 3″ (190cm)
Weight: 294 lbs (133kg)
Arm Length: 33 5/8″
Strength: NFL analysis shows that Allen is technically proficient in all phases of the game; he plays both indoors and outdoors. According to Washington coach Jay Gruden, this guy can do anything. He is said to have excellent athletic skills and is a superior hand gripper, capable of controlling the wrists and forearms of his opponents.
Weakness: According to the NFL, his weakness in the game is due to his lack of height, which is needed for a perfect defense. Therefore he is often swallowed up by line players with mass. He also lacks lateral twitching and the speed of questionable tackles on the other side of the line. In any case, he is described as an outstanding leader and athlete who can hold his own in the game and has a talent that can trump any size involved.