Newest DB already at home

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Marcus Allen’s bedroom in Silver Spring, Md., is stocked with Steelers paraphernalia. So when he received the phone call Saturday afternoon that his favorite team had drafted him in the fifth round all he had to do was reach over to his nightstand, grab a Steelers hat and put it on.

Allen, a hard-hitting safety from Penn State, has strong ties to Pittsburgh. His father, Shawn, is a 1982 Westinghouse High School graduate, and his godfather is former Pitt star and Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.

“Man, I’m coming home,” an emotional Allen said over the phone Saturday afternoon. “I’m coming home. It’s all tears of joy right now. Everyone was anxious not knowing where I was going to go. This is a perfect situation. This is my home. This is my hometown. My grandmother is there. My grandfather is there, my whole family. I’m so excited.”

Allen started 46 games for Penn State and was coached by former Gateway High School coach Terry Smith, now the defensive backs coach for the Nittany Lions. New Steelers defensive backs coach Tom Bradley coached Smith when he was an assistant at Penn State and valued his opinion of Allen.

“We’ve gotten to know a lot about him,” Bradley said. “Marcus is a big hitter, a good special-teams player. He gives us some versatility in the secondary.”

Allen is known for his tackling and hard-hitting style, finishing with 321 tackles at Penn State. He is not known for producing turnovers, though. He had only one interception in 46 career starts.

How Allen fits into the Steelers secondary remains to be seen. Right now, the safety room is a bit crowded. He was the second safety selected by the Steelers, who took Virginia Tech’s Terrell Edmunds in the first round.

Allen and Edmunds join starters Sean Davis and Morgan Burnett, veteran J.J. Wilcox and Nat Berhe and Jordan Dangerfield, who are known more for their work on special teams.

Bradley called Allen “a bigtime tackler.”

“He will strike you. He’s a physical tackler. That’s probably the best part of his game. He gets after you pretty good. He’s a big kid, has room for growth. We’re excited about him.”

Bradley said Allen is big enough and athletic enough to play linebacker in subpackages.

“He’s played a lot of football,” Bradley said. “We can move him inside if he needs to play dime. He has the physical tools to get it done.”

Allen is eager to get started with his new team.

“I’m going to work on every aspect of my game — from tackling, creating more turnovers, coverage,” he said. “I’ll be working my butt off.”