Georgia official takes on personal feel for CJ Allen
CJ Allen got an up-close look at his potential future during his official visit to Georgia.
He spent large amounts of time with current members of Georgia's team. The 2023 inside linebacker also spoke at length with head coach Kirby Smart and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann about life after football.
It all added up to a strong personal feeling for Allen's first of three scheduled official visits.
Trezman Marshall served as Allen's host for his official visit. He also spent time with Smael Mondon and Jalon Walker.
The amount of time spent with current Bulldogs surprised Allen a bit. It allowed him to see how they live as they discussed topics outside of recruiting.
"That was the best thing on the visit for me—spending time with the players, bonding with the players and the recruits. It felt like I’d known those guys for years," Allen said. "What made it so cool was that the talks we had weren’t even about recruiting. It was just regular talk. We were just out with the guys."
The bonding began on Friday night with the photo shoot and a trip to a glowing-red Sanford Stadium. Allen and the defensive recruits also came out on top in a game of charades.
Saturday saw Allen attend the linebacker position meetings before taking in the team's 7-on-7. The meetings once again helped Allen see how he could be used in the Bulldog defense.
"We know exactly how we (Allen and fellow visitor Raylen Wilson) would fit in the defense," Allen said. "That’s kind of common. That’s obvious, fast and physical. That’s ones in the guys before you, their play style and stuff like that."
In his private meetings with Schumann, however, football didn't come up as much.
"It was more about no matter what, current players, players that just left, players that just graduated, he’s still got them. He still checks on them," Allen said. "His whole thing was he wants to see his players successful, to the next level or not. He just wants his players to be happy. That was kind of his catch. Coach Schu has kind of been the same, just being real and letting the work kind of speak for itself."
Allen's meeting with Smart took on a similar tone. Georgia's head coach spoke with Allen about potential majors as well as internships former players have earned.
"Coach Smart’s biggest thing was he wants to coach guys that he likes coaching," Allen said. "He wants to coach good people. Also, his pitch is life outside of football and stuff like that. Just him taking care of his players with the internships and stuff like that. He was just looking out for his players."
Along with Wilson, Troy Bowles, and Raul Aguirre, Allen is one of Georgia's top targets at inside linebacker in this class. He has official visits coming up to Auburn and Tennessee later in June.