Penn State Football: Marcus Allen is 2017 defensive MVP
By Shane Lunnen
Senior safety Marcus Allen led a punishing Penn State football defense during the 2017 campaign and here’s why he’s the team’s MVP.
Many Penn State fans were cautiously optimistic about the defense coming into the 2017 season. There were some key losses in leadership and production from the 2016 Big Ten championship team. Safety Marcus Allen was one of the players to step up big for the Nittany Lions this year.
Allen’s play contributed to a defense which finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense, with only 15.5 points per game allowed. They allowed a touchdown or less in five games. Penn State led the Big Ten in turnovers by a wide margin with a plus 14 ratio, Northwestern being the next closest team with a plus-five ratio. The Lions were an aggressive defense, led by the versatile Allen.
Allen made his presence known early in the season. During the Pitt game, he led the team in tackles with 12 stops, nine of them were solo. He also made one of the memorable plays of the season with this stop for a safety to seal the win. (video courtesy of Big Ten Network)
Allen’s final statistics
Allen started in all 12 games this year. He finished the season second on the team in total tackles with 65, 40 of them solo. Against Georgia State, Allen notched his first career interception, returning it for 50 yards. He forced two fumbles and had four tackles for loss including a sack. He earned first team all-Big Ten honors at the end of the regular season.
The stats may not be eye popping, but Allen left his mark throughout his career as a Nittany Lion. It is hard to imagine where the Penn State defense would have been without his outstanding play the last four seasons. He is only the sixth Nittany Lion to notch 300 career tackles, ranking sixth on the all-time tackle list.
Allen has been a favorite of Nittany Lion fans with his big smile and personality. The fans will also miss his versatility, hard work, and big play on the field. Allen will be playing on Sundays next fall and is sure to be an asset to the team selecting him in the NFL draft.