After Running Back U and possibly Tight End U, the University of Georgia football program is widely regarded as one of the top manufacturers of linebackers in the country.
Most of the elite backers the Bulldogs have sent to the NFL have played the middle, or "Mike," position. CJ Allen is a Mike linebacker who is on the Butkus Award watch list, and his time to join the pantheon of run-stuffing field generals is now.
CJ Allen has a chance to be one of the best Bulldog linebackers of all time
Georgia fans know the names of the elites that have anchored the best Georgia defenses. That's right, we're talking about guys like Roquan Smith, Nakobe Dean, Ben Zambiasi, and Boss Bailey among others.
Allen and the Georgia fanbase would be thrilled to see him take the next step and be included in such illustrious company. The tools are there, but it remains to be seen if Allen has that "it" factor or that "dirty dawg" mentality that it takes to become great.
CJ Allen has one thing left to prove
Georgia fans have seen Allen's extraordinary athleticism, amazing burst into the gaps, and sideline-to-sideline speed running down ball carriers for a couple of years now. The only thing that fans need to see on a more consistent basis that is a little harder to teach - patience. It's so difficult because it runs counterintuitive to everything that Allen and all the hungry Dawg defenders want to do, which is "see ball, pursue ball, and blow up ball."
The RPO game has made the linebacker position much more difficult over the past several years. Having to defend against both the run and pass simultaneously on almost every down is something that even greats like Smith, and even Dean to some extent, didn't have to worry about, but this is the new challenge that faces Allen this season.
Glenn Schumann is molding CJ Allen in a new era of defense
No position coach in the United States is as highly regarded as Georgia linebacker alpha Glenn "Schu" Schumann. He has been involved in some of the bet defenses in Georgia football, and his work over the last ten years speaks for itself. He will likely tell you that the most difficult part of his job is trying to keep a Lambo right around the speed limit.
Schumann knows that Allen can fill gaps and bust heads with anyone, but trying to get the talented ball hawk to be patient and read what the offense is showing is paramount to the success of a great linebacker.
It used to be all about reading play-action, but now, with the myriad of RPO packages being thrown at defenses, it requires a new approach that is difficult enough for a seasoned coach to digest, much less a 20-year-old college student. If Allen and Schumann can find that delicate symbiosis between coach and player, then Georgia will have its latest All-American middle linebacker in 2025.