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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2009 > January > 14 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGood wishes to Asher Allen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For years, I was a hardliner when it came to whether your average college player should stay in school or jump to the pros before the end of his eligibility.
Don’t go. Get your education. Win one for the Gipper, or at least try.
Well, I’ve changed my mind. Except for rare cases, I now look at it like this: If somebody wants to go, they should go. Only they know the full extent of their financial situation. Plus, only they know the full extent of their commitment (or lack thereof) to the dual responsibility of studying playbooks and textbooks for another year at their old university.
Which brings me to the case of Georgia cornerback Asher Allen, among the most enjoyable collegiate athletes I’ve encountered. He’s sharp. He’s polite. He’s charismatic. He also can play.
The thing is, unlike Allen’s more celebrated Georgia brethren on offense during the last couple of seasons - Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno - Allen isn’t a cinch to get drafted in the first round. In fact, there isn’t a guarantee that the Tucker High School graduate will go before the third round by skipping his senior year with the Bulldogs. He was a good college player, not a great one.
That said, Allen has it exactly right in saying that his ultimate worth to the NFL will be determined during individual workouts with teams.
I wish Allen well.
So should you.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: UGA/SEC
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Comments
By Football Ken
January 14, 2009 11:59 AM | Link to this
Terrence,
You hit it right on the head, we as fans can no longer be upset when these kids leave for the pros. Reading what i have about his story the last 24 hours, seems like Allen’s family may need finaicial help. He has a chance to do that for them. Given 90% of America the same oppurtunity, you will get same results. Asher is a good player and with NFL coaching may become great. He does has a high football I.Q., which some of UGA teammates don’t show. UGA’s defense will be less solid now, especially the secondary, but you can’t blame the kid.
By Ogeechee Dawg
January 14, 2009 12:11 PM | Link to this
Terence - I disagree, Asher was not a good college player - he ws an excellent college player playing one of the toughest positions on the field.
He was a bright spot on a defense that struggled to gel this year. Played a large part of the season with a broken hand.
We have enjoyed three years with Asher being on the roster. We wish him the best of success!!!!
By St. Bernard
January 14, 2009 12:27 PM | Link to this
I’m with Richt. If your heart isn’t here we don’t want you. Period.
Goodbye and good luck.
By dbrooks
January 14, 2009 12:42 PM | Link to this
What a team player, leaving to make room for Greg Reid, thanks Asher…. Good Luck in the NFL.
By Windale
January 14, 2009 12:49 PM | Link to this
Asher knew that we had some real talented corners coming in so he bailed. How many picks did he have this year? 0 He was one of the problems with the dawgs defense-undisciplined. I’ve never seen someone celebrate so much when they made a tackle. I will not miss him. I just wish Rashad Jones would go too.
By Pablo
January 14, 2009 1:06 PM | Link to this
Nice column Terence. I doubt whether many of the fans, like myself, have any idea how difficult it is to be a college athlete at a big time program. It is like having two full time jobs, only you don’t get paid for either, plus you are expected to be a role model. And your free time is really not so “free” either. I am amazed that more of these young men don’t “dropout”. I believe Asher when he says that he “bleeds red and black”, and I am certain that this was a difficult decision for him. But he said that he felt that it was “time to move on”, and I respect that decision. Asher, thanks for the memories, all of your hard work and playing the last half of the season with a broken hand. You will be missed! Good luck on draft day and the NFL.
By Georgia Fan
January 14, 2009 1:11 PM | Link to this
I’m a Georgia fan but I’ve always thought Allen was a little overrated. He gets a lot of credit for his unsually strong tackling skills for his position, but even that took a slide in ‘08. He’s never been a great cover guy. Good maybe, but certainly nothing special. He could have definitely used another year. I wish him well too, but he is not ready. He is making a mistake.
By JW
January 14, 2009 1:21 PM | Link to this
He is an average player at best. He probably led the team in pass interference penalties and had ZERO interceptions.
By Knuckle Sandwich
January 14, 2009 1:32 PM | Link to this
Man, it sure is going to be hard for UGA to replace the zero interceptions that Asher is taking with him to the NFL.
By amelia island MIKE
January 14, 2009 1:44 PM | Link to this
I too in this case think AA would have benefited playing next yr. He played an outstanding bowl game—-go back and look, but he could have proven himself to be dominant w/ one more season if he played all year like he played this last game.. Good luck and Reid—-heres your chance….
By DG
January 14, 2009 1:49 PM | Link to this
It amazes me how people want to criticize an athlete when he makes a decision that he feels is best for him. No one knows his situation or his reasons for his decision but that is not any of your business anyway. Second, don’t start with the overrated comments. If he was overrated, he must have been better than anything else they had available on the team because he started every game including the ones where he had a broken hand. The reason some of you are making those comments is because you really wanted him to stay and play for UGA. The rest of you who are criticizing his talent probably never once touched the field of play on the college level.
By The Grinch
January 14, 2009 2:05 PM | Link to this
It’s heartbreaking sometimes being a Dawg fan. On the one hand, it’s fantastic we’re able to recruit such talent. On the other, watching all this talent disappear right when they’re finally seasoned enough to take the team somewhere is a pain in the @$$. UGA has become an NFL factory, and the players have learned to treat is as such instead of honoring a commitment and giving a bit back to the school and fans that gave them the opportunity in the first place. Yeah, I understand that if you’ve got 6 starving family members you can use the bonus money faster, but that’s not the case with all of them and it gets on my nerves sometimes. I’m also pretty sure that if USC can give Reggie Bush’s parents a $500,000 house UGA can give Asher Allen’s family some help at the Kroger in Athens.
By LarDog
January 14, 2009 2:09 PM | Link to this
I agree that Allen could have used an extra year to improve his cover skills, but I also agree with Terrence in that it his personal decision. His decision to leave does not mean that his heart was not at UGA, but perhaps other factors dictated his decision. Wish him well everyone!
By Blair Walsh Project
January 14, 2009 2:38 PM | Link to this
I had the opportunity to take a public speaking class with Asher when I was in school at Georgia and he really is a sharp guy. Very confident person and I think that will help him tremendously in the NFL. As a lot of other people have said, we do not know all of the factors that went in to his decision nor should we. During his career I watched him make plenty of tackles that should have been made by the D-line or linebackers and in several cases saving a touchdown. He is not necessarily a cover corner but he is tough and he can hit which a lot of other corners cannot do. And for those of you who want to pull the 0 interception card, I’d like to see you catch a football from an SEC quarterback with a broken hand. Good luck Asher, make Georgia proud!
By anotherdawg
January 14, 2009 3:18 PM | Link to this
Amen DG! The easiest thing in the world is to criticize. Yeah, Windale, I’m talking about you! Asher was the best corner we had, so any criticism of him is nothing more than sour grapes because he’s moving on. Any true UGA fan should do like Mark Richt and take the high road and wish him well. I can assure you Richt did not want him to leave. But, Mark Richt is a class guy and supports his team (family)! Go DAWGS!
By don't be a hater
January 14, 2009 3:32 PM | Link to this
Based on the prospects for GA next year, who can blame him. I wouldn’t want to be on a sorry team next year either. All the pressure will be on the defense and he doesn’t have any help. So just by association with a worse team, he will be worse next year. It was really his only option.