Armando Allen

Armando Allen

Armando Allen is easily top amongst my favorite Irish players, definitely my favorite offensive player. He reminds me of former Irish running back, Darius Walker. His body frame is much like Walker's (5-10 190lbs vs. 5-11 200lbs), and they both led the team in all purpose running during their freshmen and sophomore years respectfully. As a player, Armando shares the versatility that Walker did at Notre Dame. Armando can do it all: he can return it to the house, he can run it to the house, and he can snag a grab in the house. What makes all of this possible is Allen's blazing speed. He ran a 4.30 in high school, which is much faster than Walker's 4.45 forty time. With all of his versatility and speed, it seems that Armando has underperformed despite leading the Irish in all purpose yards in 2008.

I believe that the leading cause of Armando's running woes and the Irish overall rushing woes have been the offensive line. It all begins in the trenches, and that is why I believe the addition of Frank Verducci as offensive line coach will exceedingly improve the offensive line, which in turn will improve the running game. The offensive line the past two years haven't developed large enough holes for Irish running backs, but especially Armando Allen to showcase their speed. When the line did open up holes, they closed rapidly, which, combined with Armando Allen's lack of confidence and experience, was a recipe for negative yardage. Along with under confidence and a just awful line, Allen also suffered a leg injury during his senior year in high school. Although his injuries had no affect on his running abilities entering his freshmen year, they definitely left him second guessing on whether or not to hit a hastily-closing hole.

In 2009, I predict Allen will rush for over 1000 yards and yet again lead the Irish for all purpose yards. He will overcome his fear of being injured again, which I believe hindered his confidence in the past. He displayed more confidence in the 80th annual Blue Gold game than he has ever shown, which gives me reason to believe Allen will become Notre Dame's next 1000 runner, answering any fan's question about the Irish rushing attack.