Tide's Allen proving himself as every-down player, leader

TUSCALOOSA — There were many reasons Jonathan Allen opted to forgo the NFL draft and return to Alabama for his senior season.

One of the big reasons was it provided him much-needed time to recover from offseason shoulder surgery.

But another significant factor was the senior defensive end’s drive to prove to himself and others that he can be an every-down contributor.

“I want to become an every-down player, show that I can play the run better, those are a couple of things I wasn’t really required to do in the past,” Allen said Monday. “But definitely this year, that’s a role I’m trying to get better at.”

Despite playing a significant role on last season’s line, starting 11 games and leading the team with 12 sacks, Allen saw the benefit of returning and contributing in an even greater role than he did a year ago — especially when it comes to being a leader.

With considerable turnover along the line, including the departure of beloved defensive line coach Bo Davis — who resigned this spring amid speculation of NCAA violations — Allen has taken a more proactive role to helping guide the rest of Alabama’s defensive line this season.

“We all have to step our game up when people depart or leave,” Allen said, “but we’re a unit, so we’re just working hard together, trying to get better and just trying to grind and get better every day.”

That day-to-day improvement was the talking point Monday in Alabama’s first practice following Saturday’s first of two preseason scrimmages, as the reshuffled Tide defensive front sought to get better across the board with just 2 1/2 weeks until the season opener against Southern Cal.

“I feel like we need to be more consistent, give more effort, running to the football, communicating better — just stuff that comes with time,” Allen said. “I’m not really worried about it, I just know it’s just something we have to fix and improve on.”

Despite graduating two starting defensive linemen — including second-round NFL draft picks Jarran Reed (Seattle Seahawks) and A’Shawn Robinson (Detroit Lions) — and two other significant contributors from a year ago, seniors Darren Lake and D.J. Pettway, the cupboard is far from bear up front defensively.

Along with Allen and fellow senior defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson, the Tide return junior Da’Shawn Hand and talented sophomore Da’Ron Payne, who earned three starts at nose guard last season. Also back are part-time contributors such as senior O.J. Smith and junior Joshua Frazier, both of whom are expected to see increased playing time this season.

Then there’s the new additions including 6-foot-7, 315-pound behemoth Raewkon Davis, fellow four-star defensive end signee Quinnen Williams and unheralded junior college product Jamar King from Mendocino College in California.

But while it’s clear who the projected starters will be, determining how the rest of the defensive line rotation will shape out is still a work-in-progress, as Tide head coach Nick Saban likes to say.

“We feel really good about the three defensive ends — Jonathan Allen, Dalvin Tomlinson and Da'Shawn Hand — they've all played before, they've all been productive players,” Saban said Saturday following the team’s first scrimmage of preseason camp. “Then I think there's the three new guys that came in we're working with and they're making significant improvement. I think, probably, after the next scrimmage, we'll have to decide, 'OK, which one of these guys are we gonna invest our time in?' But it's difficult for me, again, to assess that today.”

Which is where veteran returners like Allen and Tomlinson come into play, taking it upon themselves to shoulder much of the internal leadership responsibility.

And by all accounts, each has accepted their new duties head on.

“Me and Jon were working a lot with the younger guys, trying to (teach them) the techniques and stuff right like that,” Tomlinson said two weeks ago, “and they (have taken) the coaching well from us and (defensive line) coach (Karl) Dunbar, so I feel like all of them got a lot better today.”

But while the on-the-field stuff is important, it’s the off-the-field support that Allen sees his avenue to having the greatest impact this season.

“I’ve just try to understand guys better,” Allen said. “If I see something going on I try to talk to them, communicate with them, give them energy, try to pick them up when they’re having a bad day. Just little things here or there.”

All of which, Allen hopes, will translate to even greater success on the field in 2016, potentially even surpassing last season’s NCAA-leading 52 sack total.

“Personally, I think we could beat it, but it’s going to take a lot of effort from each (group) — linebackers, defensive linemen,” Allen said. “But I would not be surprised if we beat it.”