Allen becomes a Buccaneer

A chance to play as a freshman prompted Avon Park standout tailback Teddy Allen to sign to play football for Charleston Southern University (Charleston, S.C.) on Friday afternoon.

Allen, a bruising 5-11, 214-pounder who rushed for 1,183 yards and 12 touchdowns while playing both tailback and quarterback for the Red Devils, also considered offers from Grambling University (Louisiana) and Virginia Tech University.

"I've got a better shot at getting on the field quicker at Charleston Southern," Allen said. "Virginia Tech called me two days before signing day and told me they were looking at me, but I probably would've had to redshirt and sit out my freshman year.

"I didn't want to do that because I want to get on the field as soon as possible."

Charleston Southern University is a Division I-AA program that competes in the Big South Conference against Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Liberty, Presbyterian, Radford, Stony Brook, UNC Asheville, Virginia Military Institute and Winthrop University.

Charleston Southern posted a 6-5 record in 2009 under the guidance of coach Jay Mills, and the Buccaneers have room in their backfield for someone as talented and explosive as Allen.

"Coach Mills visited my house while recruiting me and he thinks my versatility will help the team," said Allen. "I can play tailback or I can take a direct snap from center in what Charleston Southern calls the Buccaneer formation.

"I like Coach Mills, I enjoyed my visit to Charleston, which is a big city, and I'm ready to see and experience a bunch of new things."

For the tradition-rich Avon Park football program, another of its athletes is ready to make his mark at the next level.

"This is a great moment for Teddy and I'm really happy for him," said second-year Red Devils coach Andy Bonjokian. "I think he made a good decision and he's a fine young man and a great student-athlete.

"He's going to have an opportunity to play at Charleston Southern and earn a degree in something that he can use for the rest of his life."

Allen, who grew up playing football with a water bottle filled with sand pretending to be a star player, knows he will have to work hard to be successful on the gridiron as well as in the classroom at the college level.

"I'm going to work hard in the weight room to get stronger," said the affable Red Devil senior. "I'm going to work on getting faster and I'm going to keep my head in the books so I can stay on top of my studies.

"Charleston Southern runs the pistol formation a lot on offense, which is similar to what we ran at Avon Park, but their numbering is a little different and I'm looking forward to getting up there and learning their system."

Charleston, S.C., is only seven hours by car from Avon Park, which pleases Allen's family.

"We're very proud of Teddy and Charleston isn't that far away," said father Lynn Allen. "I never imagined this would happen and I'm going to go see him play as much as possible."

Charleston Southern, in addition to its rigorous Big South Conference schedule, has road games at Kentucky and Hawaii this fall.

"I can't wait to travel and see different parts of the country," said Allen. "It gets a little cold in Charleston because when I visited up there we had ice on our car's windshield and doors.

"I watched the football team practice in the cold, but I'm sure I'll get used to it and that's just part of going to different places and experiencing new things."