|
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Russell Allen is the backbone of the Aztec defense. The senior linebacker from Oceanside, Calif., has proven to be a strong leader on
and
off the field.
Last season, Allen led the Aztecs with 119 tackles and ranked first in the league in tackles per outing (10.6). He broke a 36-year old school
record with 22
tackles, including 10 solo stops, against Utah on Oct. 13, and was named co-MWC defensive player of the week for his efforts.
He ranks third in SDSU single-season history in tackles by a junior and tied for eighth in solo stops (71).
In the classroom, Allen is a scholar-athlete who graduated with a degree in kinesiology this past spring and plans to work towards a master's
degree this fall.
Allen's leadership qualities are what stands out about him the most. He has seen extensive playing time at both weakside and strongside
linebacker, and has already made 31 career starts as an Aztec. He was the only non-senior captain from the squad last season, which was voted
on by his fellow teammates. He is a student of the game, who enjoys picking the brain of defensive coordinator Bob Elliott.
With such a passion and drive to win, Allen is looking to make his senior year a memorable one.
Ross Report Transcript:
 Click here to watch interview.
On how his summer is going:
It's going really well actually. For the first time ever I'm not in summer school so, it's been kinda nice to just focus on football and do a lot
of training and everything all summer.
On how summer workouts and training are going:
Well we've actually had really good participation. We've had pretty much one hundred percent participation and everybody has been there working
hard and things are going really well for us.
On how the teams hard work will pay off in the upcoming season:
That's huge. The summer to me is the most important time of the year because you kinda find out what your team is made of when there is no
coaches around; when you have to figure out who is committed and who isn't, and its been going really well.
On his favorite part of his hometown San Diego:
I love it down here, you know, near campus, near downtown where you kinda get a little taste of everything. I mean San Diego is a great city,
but where we are you get to see a little bit of everything.
On how he got into football:
Actually, I pretty much always knew that I wanted to play football, but I never played in Pop Warner or anything. I didn't play until high
school. So when freshman football came around, I just decided to play.
On how he felt about leading the conference in tackles and breaking the school record of most tackles in a game with 22 vs. Utah:
I mean obviously that's a great honor. It's a lot of fun. But, the bottom line is winning games, and we didn't do enough of that, so that's
the ultimate goal.
On how he's made it a personal goal to contribute to winning this next season:
Yeah, my personal goal is to help us win as much as possible, and that's it.
On whether it's the teams goal to win:
Always! That's always the team goal; to win every game we play.
On working with Coach Long and Coach Elliot the past two years:
It's been a lot of fun you know. I've actually learned a lot from those guys. Coach Long is very smart and very good at controlling the
entire situation and coach Elliot is just a mastermind. It's been a lot of fun just kinda picking his brain and learning as much as I can
from him.
On what to expect from the Aztecs this season:
Excitement! That's one thing for sure. We're going to play hard and we are going to be exciting to watch.
On what he believes is different about this years defense over last years younger group:
Well, we've got nine guys coming back from our defense last year, so that is going to be a benefit for us. Guys are going to be a little
bit more experienced, a little bit older, a little bit more physically mature. That's going to help us a lot going into the fall, just
having that experience together.
On how he sees himself as a leader this year after being the only non-senior captain last season:
Being the only returning captain, I take a lot of the weight of the team on my shoulders. I feel like its my job to kinda get everything
started and I feel like we have got a great core of leadership this year. I may be the only returning captain, but I'm not the only leader.
We have got a lot of great leadership and I'm excited to see what the young leaders are going to do.
On the four Aztecs recently drafted by the NFL and what that says about SDSU:
It really to me just shows the potential that we have. There were 7 players in the Mountain West that were drafted and four of them
were from San Diego State. So to me that shows that there is a lot of talent, a lot of potential, so it's just a matter of putting it all
together.
On his plans for the future and whether he feels pressure going into his senior season:
No. I don't consider any added pressure. For me it's just about... You know it's the final go around and its just time to go have some fun
and do it one last time and we will see what happens after that.
|
