Oregon wide receiver Devon Allen got to achieve his dream of representing the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Allen fell short of the podium, earning a fifth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles final, but now he is ready to turn his focus back to his other passion on the gridiron. But first, his body needs a rest, so Allen says he may sit out the first few weeks of the college football season.
“Jumping right back in, it could work, but maybe resting could make for a better athlete in the long run, so maybe I miss the first couple games,” Allen told Ryan Thorburn of The Register-Guard. “Eventually I’ll get back in there.”
Last season, as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered at the end of 2014, Allen recorded just nine passes for 94 yards. It was a far cry from the 41 catches for 684 yards and seven touchdowns he recorded before suffering the ACL tear. Now, he hopes to get back to top form in order to put out more positive football film for the scouts.
The biggest area Allen will need to focus on improving rapidly is his knowledge of the new system on offense, but offensive coordinator Matt Lubick doesn’t seem too concerned.
“It will be a lot easier than people think,” Lubick said. “He’s obviously fast and in shape. The one thing Devon did, even when he was doing the intense track (work), and this an Olympic year, he came over to our meetings. So he was mentally clicked in.
“We’ve added a few different things, but he has 4.0, off the charts intelligence. We’ll get him up to speed in no time.”
Allen has shown time and time again that we should never count him out, so the Ducks will give him the time he needs to fully recover before hopefully benefiting from his world-class athleticism on the field.
Oregon opens its 2016 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 3 against UC Davis in Eugene.
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Photo Credit: Devon Allen, Instagram