Last Chance U: Season 2 players with best chance to play in NFL

TALLAHASSEE, FL - APRIL 11: De'Andre Johnson #14 of the Gold team runs for yards against the Garnet team during Florida State's Garnet and Gold spring game at Doak Campbell Stadium on April 11, 2015 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - APRIL 11: De'Andre Johnson #14 of the Gold team runs for yards against the Garnet team during Florida State's Garnet and Gold spring game at Doak Campbell Stadium on April 11, 2015 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

The heart and soul of the EMCC defense in 2016 was linebacker Dakota Allen. One of the rare situations where the Lions receive a player that returns to the same school in which he originally got kicked out off. Redemption stories can be a sign of NFL promise when players push through enormous challenges and defy all odds to become stars at the college level.

Allen will start for head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the Will linebacker spot. However, the Texas Tech defense will have to improve before Allen has a legitimate shot at the NFL. The Red Raider defense has been one of the notoriously worst defenses among any Power Five conference team.

A burst to the top of the Big 12 would put Texas Tech and players like Allen in the spotlight that could get the attention of NFL scouts. A 5-7 record put Kingsbury on the hot seat for the 2017 campaign and that is not favorable for a player like Allen that has had such a rocky football career.