Washington Township TE Jaden Allen Heading to Utah State

by Marc Narducci | Jul 10, 2020

A random questionnaire that Jaden Allen filled out turned into a football scholarship. A rising senior tight end and defensive end at Washington Township, Allen will attend Division I Utah State after committing to the Aggies late in the spring. He was recruited by Utah State as a tight end.

“One of their coaches sent me a DM to fill out a questionnaire and it was kind of random because they don’t recruit in New Jersey,” Allen said. “I noticed some Utah State coaches started to follow me (on social media). I got a DM from a coach who said as a tight end I fit their scheme exactly what they are looking for.”

At 6-foot-3 and 225-pounds, Allen fits the description as the prototype tight end, one who is willing to block but also can get open using his strength and speed.

He will be entering his third season as a starter for the Minutemen.

Utah State competes in the Mountain West Conference. It is considered one of the better non-Power Five conference in college football.

This is also the school that produced an NFL first-round draft choice this year, with quarterback Jordan Love being selected 26th overall by the Green Bay Packers.

Now that he has made his college choice, Allen is happy that he can concentrate on his senior season (hoping of course that there will be a season).

“I can kind of take a little breath right now,” Allen said. “I was enjoying taking it in and was stressful but a blessing to be in that position and have coaches talk and message to you. I still have coaches hit me.”

Having other coaches message him will likely continue. That’s because high school football players can only make a verbal commitment at this stage. They can’t sign a letter of intent until December.

What Allen is looking more forward to is visiting the campus. Due to the pandemic, he hasn’t gotten a chance to see the campus, located in Logan, Utah, about an hour from Salt Lake City

“Even though I haven’t visited the school, one thing me and my family have done is taken every virtual tour out there,” he said. “I think I know the campus by heart.”

Allen is following in the footsteps of his brother Julian, who also played Division I football at Southern Mississippi. This past season Julian Allen played in the XFL for the Dallas Renegades.

Since the XFL season was canceled due to the pandemic, Jaden has been training with his brother every day and looking to help the Minutemen improve. Last year Washington Township went 3-7, earned a South Jersey Group 5 playoff berth before losing, 28-7 to Hillsborough in the first round.

Article continues below

- Seizing the Moment

After the spring season was canceled last year due to the pandemic, these standout student-athletes from South Jersey are hoping to make the most of their opportunities in 2021.

- A Show of Strength

With the state ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, South Jersey is proving there’s more ways than one to put up a fight.

"I really believe we are going to step up,” Allen said. “We have a lot of young talent and everybody has been working hard through the quarantine and I think it is going to pay off.”

© SouthJersey.com 2020. All rights reserved. This article or parts thereof may not be reprinted or reproduced by any other party without the express written consent of SouthJersey.com. For more information, please call 856-797-9910.

To receive special deals directly from SouthJersey.com, subscribe here.

For more Local Sports features, visit our South Jersey Sports page.

Author: Marc Narducci

Washington Township TE Jaden Allen Heading to Utah State

Related Articles

Archives