Armando Allen Is Key to Irish Success in 2009

My first thought on why Armando Allen hasn’t made Irish fans coo-coo for Coco Puffs is because he played in 2007. While I do think he did gain some valuable experience that will make him a very good back this season, if we wanted to see something really good in 2008 Notre Dame should have red-shirted him. I think he was still a bit underweight and was thrown to the wolves.

Robert Hughes was much more physically developed as a freshman and it showed as he did very well in 2007. Armando Allen also didn’t play his senior year of high school.  He essentially went a year and a half without playing in a game. I am surprised that he was even able to do what he did in 2007.  His 348 yards is not anything to go crazy over, but seeing all the factors that were against him, and coming off the injury while splitting carries, and running behind an atrocious line, I give him a pass. He did average a personal best 4.0 yards per carry.

That’s not too shabby for a rusty freshman

Before he broke his leg as a junior, scouts were oozing praise on him like a baker puts icing on a cake. He was called “one of the best backs in the nation” several times. He ran for over 1000 yards in nine games against the toughest competition. He was to become Notre Dame’s new golden boy.

Remember, Gold Domers what it felt like to grab him over Florida? Then he only ran for those measly 348 yards and we all wondered where the speed was. Clocked at 4.3 at the AA combine we all just knew he was going to be a terror to catch. When he didn’t break many runs in 2007 for long yards or touchdowns, we began to wonder. 

Come around to this season and we start to see some good things. My biggest fear after the 2007 season was if the kids could still believe in themselves. Coach Charlie Weis said the same thing over and over in press conferences and I agreed. Some didn’t, but personally I think a team has no chance at all if guys are not confident in their own ability, and the ability of those around them.

In 2008 we saw a large improvement in Armando Allen. He was larger, and wasn’t afraid to run straight into guys he knew were going to pummel him, and he never quit even when it seemed there was never a hole in front of him.

This is the second thing that I think was hurting all of Notre Dame’s running backs. It is hard to teach a running back how to have good vision to see holes when there are none. That is where Armando’s speed has gone. That hesitation in trying to find an opening that should be there somewhere caused him to look a lot slower than he really is. His blazing 4.3 speed has turned into a 4.7 because of that .4 of a second that he has to wait for a hole, then decide. 

I do not blindly place all of that on the offensive line as at times there were holes and Armando missed them, however I do feel that it would be far easier to solidify a running back’s understanding of the concept of running the zone, if they could actually run in the zone once in awhile. Even with a line that seemed completely incapable of run blocking at times, Armando Allen improved. He jumped up to an average of 4.4 yards per carry and turned himself into a receiving threat as well.

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