What I really like about Brian is that he’s one of my smartest corners. Hands down, he understands all of the schemes, the small intricacies that fall within each of the schemes and he does a great job of explaining to the young players. – Utah secondary coach Sharrieff Shah
SALT LAKE CITY — When the Utah football team dismissed projected starting cornerback Dominique Hatfield in July amid legal troubles, coach Sharrieff Shah knew the biggest void he left wouldn’t show up on a stat sheet.
Hatfield, like his coach, was a fiery, outspoken leader. Shah, who coaches the team's cornerbacks, turned to one of the quietest players at the position, Brian Allen, to do what Hatfield had done for the group.
“He’s embracing this role,” Shah said of Allen. “This is a transitional move for him. It came so abruptly; we didn’t know it was going to happen (losing Hatfield), and he just said, ‘Coach, I’m not going to let you down.’”
Allen, who is also a junior, admits he’s never going to be the loudest guy on the field. But when it comes to stepping up to lead his younger teammates, that’s a role he said he can embrace. “I told coach Shah, ‘I’m ready for this opportunity,'” Allen said. “I just try to use my knowledge to help the young guys make plays.”
Ten days into fall camp, Shah said Allen has emerged as a capable leader — on and off the field — at a critical time.
“Brian, after just a few practices, is doing exactly what I thought he’d be doing,” Shah said. “What I really like about Brian is that he’s one of my smartest corners. Hands down, he understands all of the schemes, the small intricacies that fall within each of the schemes and he does a great job of explaining to the young players. He may not be the vocal kid you look for, but I love that he takes such a good position in making everybody smarter.”
In fact, Shah, who is himself a fiery, vocal coach, said he’d prefer Allen to a boisterous player who lacks the ability to teach. “I’ll take a kid like Brian, who will pull a kid aside and say, ‘This is what coach is asking you to do, and this is why we’re doing it’ — I’ll take him all day over a kid who is yelling and screaming and not really teaching, not showing a kid how to get better. As camp continues, he continues to show me skills and qualities that I thought he had.”
Cornerbacks are often among the most outspoken players on a team. But Allen said the Ute defense doesn’t need him to jaw at opponents because they have other players who are willing and able.
“I don’t feel like I have to (trash talk opponents) because I have other pieces around me,” Allen said. “(Linebackers) Jared (Norris) and Gionni (Paul), they’re like the face of the defense. All the trash talking goes through those guys.”
If there is one thing Allen can do it’s adjust.
The Texas native was recruited to Utah to play wide receiver.
“Coming from high school, I’ve never played defense at all,” he said. “So my heart was always at receiver.” In the spring of 2014, coaches told Allen they were going to move him to safety.
“From there it was like my confidence went down because I never really wanted to play defense at all,” he said.
Safeties coach Morgan Scalley and Shah spent extra time with Allen trying to help him adjust, and eventually coaches decided to move him to cornerback. Shah said he felt Allen had the intelligence and the physical skills necessary to play the demanding position.
Allen said that once he committed to playing defense, he began playing better. He suffered a season ending injury in 2014, which made him even more determined during the offseason.
“I think I’ve made the transition well,” he said. “Last year I ended up getting hurt, so I didn’t get to finish the season off how I wanted to, but I just use that as a motivator to come back and show what I can do.”
The most difficult part of switching from offense to defense, he said, was tackling.
“I was never really a tackler,” he said. “On offense, I was always known as a good blocker, but being on the opposite side of it, you have to look to come off blocks and tackle.”
Shah said he wanted Allen as a cornerback from day one.
“I wanted him before anybody,” he said. “He’s turned out to be probably one of our best kids. But he’s just a kid who had to get comfortable. He won’t say much until he’s comfortable. That’s just who he is. He won’t talk; he won’t say a lot. He takes everything personal.”
Shah said quieter players can struggle with his fiery, confrontational style. He spends a lot of time talking to players one-on-one, and part of that is explaining that his passion for perfection is meant to make them work harder and play better.
Allen said he’s confident that under Shah’s guidance, he’s learning the skills he needs to succeed at cornerback. Right now, he’s battling junior college transfer Cory Butler-Byrd for the number one spot opposite veteran corner Reggie Porter.
Allen said Hatfield became a friend and mentor throughout his transition. Losing Hatfield wasn’t just a blow to the team on the field.
“It was tough,” he said. “Me and Dominique were pretty close. I miss him. I love him to death, and I just hope all the problems, he’ll get through it. And I’m here for him.” He said he’d welcome Hatfield back, even if that meant losing his starting job.
“I really want him to come back to this team,” he said. “At the end of the day, I learned a lot of stuff from the guy, and I wouldn’t be upset if he came back. I’m a team player. I just really want to see this team be successful. That’s all that matters to me.”
Shah said Allen has been critical to the development of the team’s young players, as well as the unit’s cohesion.
“Any way you want to frame it,” he said. “He’s been a blessing and an addition to the unit in all aspects.”
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