Who Is This FL HS Legend in the Photo? Greg Allen

[OldSchoolLion]

We've got to back a ways for this fellow...

-Who am I?

-Where did I play in high school?

-What famous coach did I play for in high school?

-What team(s) did I play against in the state finals?

-Where did I play in college?

[ckdawg]

Greg Allen Milton High & FSU

[OldSchoolLion]

It is Greg Allen, who played for Milton High and legendary coach Hurley Manning back in the late 1970's.  In 1978, Allen broke off an 80-yard 4th qtr TD run to help Milton defeat Delray Atlantic 9-2 and win the first of two back-to-back 3A state titles.  In 1979, Allen led his Milton team to one of the more dominating playoff performances in FHSAA history, outscoring their opponents 132-13 in 4 games.  Milton beat Glades Central in the finals 35-6.

Greg Allen is one of the fastest athletes to have ever come through FSU.  Competing on FSU's track team, Allen ran a 10.82-100 meters, long-jumped 24'11¼" and was clocked at 4.28 in the 40-yard dash.  As a true freshman Allen finished with 888 yards and three touchdowns, his 6.4 yards per carry average was 5th best in the nation and enough to earn him freshman All-American honors.   He earned All-American honors his junior and senior seasons.  He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round, 35th overall in 1985. His NFL career lasted just two seasons, one year in Cleveland and one in Tampa the following year. 

Back in the early 1980's, ESPN was in its infancy and people still read newspapers.   It was an era where you couldn't just go on the internet and look up sports results or get news about any team. When it came to following sports you were limited to what was around locally and very limited national coverage. That made getting national headlines extremely important for recruiting and raising the profile of an up-and-coming program.

Allen became that national conduit for FSU during his four years in Tallahassee. 500 yards in back-to-back games as a freshman was a national story. Leading the country with 20 rushing touchdowns as a sophomore was a major national story. Being a consensus NCAA All-American as a junior brought more national recognition. Then as a senior Allen was a Heisman candidate with the third best rushing average in the nation.

Kids around the country heard "FSU" and thought of Greg Allen for a few years. Just like the Warrick Dunns and Derrick Brooks and Charlie Wards of the 90's had an impact on getting kids to take an interest in FSU, Allen was bringing that kind of recognition to the 'Noles as they were clawing their way towards college football's upper echelon in the early 80's. 

He rewrote the FSU record books while he was there. When he graduated, he was atop every single rushing statistic....attempts, yardage, touchdowns, average per carry and he was tops across all the categories: career, season, game. He had all of the records.  His record of 20 rushing TD's during the 1982 season and single game rushing record of 322 yards still stand today, over 35 years later.  His career rushing yardage of 3769 and 44 career rushing TD's still rank near the top in FSU history.  

 

[OldSchoolLion]

Glades Central and Atlantic were powerhouse programs back then.  GC won 3A state titles in 1971 and 1972.  In fact, GC beat Milton for that 72 title.  Atlantic played in the 3A finals in 73, 75, and 76.

Imagine how rural Milton and Santa Rosa County was 40 years ago.  Yet, they managed to compete for titles in the second largest class at the time.  During their state title years, they beat teams from Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando and Melbourne in the playoffs.  Milton proved that a "rural" team  can compete in the big leagues.  Think they did it by getting a bunch of transfers every year?  They had a great coach and lots of grit....mean, nasty and focused.

[Dan in Daytona]

Always get Greg Allen mixed up with the Running Back Bobby Bowden recuited out of Germany playing tackle football for the US Army league. Anyone remember that guy's name ? He was MAN !

[Dan in Daytona]

23 hours ago, Dan in Daytona said:

Always get Greg Allen mixed up with the Running Back Bobby Bowden recuited out of Germany playing tackle football for the US Army league. Anyone remember that guy's name ? He was MAN !

Billy Allen, was recuited when BB was on a speaking tour in Europe. He played service tackle football while in the US Air Force (Germany). Thanks Google......