Devon

Allen

Allen is an Olympic track athlete who is attempting to parlay his all-world speed into a professional football career. The former Oregon Duck has yet to log a regular-season snap since leaving school in 2017 and was a long shot to make the Eagles’ roster heading into this season. A lack of special teams acumen has likely hurt Allen, who totaled just 981 yards and eight touchdowns in three college seasons.

The Eagles also signed WR Tyrie Cleveland, DB Mario Goodrich, DE Tarron Jackson, OT Fred Johnson, OT Roderick Johnson, DE Matt Leo, G Iosua Opeta, LB Davion Taylor to reserve/future contracts. Allen, a runner at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, spent all of 2022 on the Eagles’ practice squad. He will look to compete for a spot on their 53-man roster during the summer.

Allen, a competitor in the 110m hurdles at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, showed off his unmatched speed in the final week of the preseason. He scorched the Browns’ reserves for a 55-yard touchdown from Reid Sinnett while also making some plays as a punt gunner. Allen is a candidate to land on the Eagles’ practice squad.

Allen last played football in 2016, his final collegiate season with Oregon. After football, he went on to run the 110m hurdles in the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. Having been out of football for five years, Allen is an extreme long-shot to make Philly’s final roster. However, he did clock a 4.35 40-yard dash at Oregon’s pro day last week and he reached 684 yards as a freshman with the Ducks.

Allen made it to the finals and finished with a time of 13.31 seconds. That wasn’t enough for him to medal, but he came darned close, finishing just .07 seconds behind bronze medal winner Dimitri Bascou (France). Omar McLeod of Jamaica and Orlando Ortega of Spain finished first and second, respectively. It remains to be seen what Allen will be doing on the football side of the equation this season. His absence in August camp due to his participation in the Olympics puts him behind the eight-ball in terms of his season-readiness. Oregon kicks off against UC Davis on September 3.

The conditions weren’t exactly optimal -- rain led to a wet track and several tumbles on the evening -- but Allen did what he needed to do to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals. Running in Heat 4 on Monday, he landed in second place with a time of 13.41 seconds. That’s a fair pace off the 13.03 seconds he ran the hurdles in at the US Olympic Trials to qualify for Rio, but we should see him start to ramp things up in the semifinals and (hopefully) the finals.

Allen also won the event in 2014. The 6-foot, 190-pounder will be a participant in the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, where the top three finishers will qualify to compete against the best in the world in Rio. He played in just six games last season due to a knee injury, but his work in the hurdles shows that he is feeling pretty healthy as we hurtle toward the 2016 campaign.

Allen finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles at the Rio Summer Olympics on Tuesday. While he does plan on playing football with the Ducks this season, he understandably wants to take a week or so to rest and refocus. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has yet to take part in August camp due to his Olympics jaunt and said that it was possible he might miss “a couple of games.” OC Matt Lubick is not concerned that Allen will have issues adjusting back to football. “We’ve added a few different things,” he said, “but he has 4.0, off-the-charts intelligence. We’ll get him up to speed in no time.”

Awesome. This isn’t just a fringe qualification either -- Allen flat-out won the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a time of 13.03 seconds. That is almost a full half-second faster than the 13.32-second mark he recorded in the event to win the NCAA championship last month. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has a ready-made puff piece for Bob Costas to sink his teeth into, too, as Allen tore his ACL in the 2015 Rose Bowl. The only real downside of his trip is that he won’t be rejoining the Ducks until the Games conclude on August 21 (they start on August 5). Regardless, this is a grand opportunity for the speedster. Cue the majestic John Williams theme.

Allen finished in the top-four in the Pac-12 in the 100, 200, 110-meter hurdle -- his 13.32 seconds won the NCAA title -- and 400-meter hurdle outside. “His No. 1 goal right now is to go to the Olympics,” offensive coordinator Matt Lubick said. “I would never bet against that guy to not only make the Olympics but to do something there. Whenever we can get him back, we’ll be jacked, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The 6-foot, 190-pounder caught 41 passes for 684 yards and seven touchdowns on the Marcus Mariota-led 2014 squad that played in the title. Last season was ravaged by injuries.