Former Notre Dame safety Derrik Allen will transfer to Georgia Tech. Allen, who was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, tweeted his decision Monday.
Allen, a Lassiter High grad, becomes the fourth in-state player who was a four-star prospect in high school to transfer to Tech since coach Geoff Collins' hire, following defensive end Antonneous Clayton (Florida), wide receiver Marquez Ezzard (Miami) and cornerback Myles Sims (Michigan).
At Lassiter, Allen was rated the No. 106 prospect in the country, the No. 9 safety and the No. 14 player in Georgia in the 2018 signing class (247Sports Composite). The highest-rated in-state player to sign with Tech in that class was quarterback James Graham at No. 38. The highest national rating belonged to cornerback Jaylon King (No. 318).
Allen did not play in his first season on campus at Notre Dame. Should he transfer via the conventional path, he will sit out the 2019 season and then have three seasons of eligibility remaining. It’s possible that he could apply for an immediate-eligibility waiver. If successful, he would have four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Allen, 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds, will likely remain at safety, bolstering an already deep group that includes Juanyeh Thomas, Tariq Carpenter, Kaleb Oliver and Christian Campbell, although Campbell is a senior and would not compete for playing time in 2020 with Allen if he sits out this season.
Allen had reportedly fallen to the third string in preseason workouts at Notre Dame. It is the hope of Tech staff that he can thrive with a change of scenery.
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