Oklahoma quarterback Drew Allen has decided to spend his final year of eligibility with Syracuse. The senior from San Antonio made the news official on Friday in a conversation with the Syracuse Post-Standard.
"It is the toughest decision of my life just because of the uniqueness of the situation," Allen told the Post-Standard. "Coming out of high school, I was basically deciding where I was going to go for the next four or five years of my life. With this, it was a decision that would span a matter of months -- a one-year deal.
"So it's been a long process, and I'm really excited that it's come down to me going to Syracuse."
Allen, a 6-foot-5, 226-pound former high school All-American, will earn his degree from Oklahoma in May and be eligible to compete immediately. His one-year deal makes Allen an attractive target for first-year coach Scott Shafer, who is left with the task of replacing Ryan Nassib for 2013.
Shafer cannot make an official statement regarding Allen until he is enrolled at Syracuse.
After redshirting in 2009, Allen fell behind Landry Jones on the Sooners' depth chart. The competition for 2013 includes Blake Bell, the Belldozer, along with Trevor Knight and Kendal Thompson. At Syracuse, Allen is already considered by some as the favorite to beat out redshirt senior Charley Loeb, junior Terrel Hunt and senior John Kinder for the starting job.
According to Allen, the Orange coaching staff made no promises regarding the competition.
"I can assure you that the schools that contacted me, not one single school made that promise, and I didn't expect them to," Allen told The Post-Standard. "Honestly, if a school did that, I don't know if I would really hold them to a high regard. That's not how I do things. I've had to compete the past four years, I've had to compete all my life."
Allen chose Syracuse over ACC division rival NC State, citing his relationship with offensive coordinator George McDonald as a deciding factor.
"When it came down to those two schools, I knew that I honestly couldn't go wrong," Allen said. "Both coaching staffs are amazing; both have great players. But when it came down to it, I just feel like what Coach McDonald is talking about doing there at Syracuse really fits my style."
Syracuse has released an official depth chart, and Loeb is likely to be Allen's toughest competition for playing time. Shafer has not ruled out using two quarterbacks, either, so both players could end up seeing time in their final year of eligibility.
Syracuse wraps spring practice with the annual spring game on April 20. For more on the Orange, check out their Spring Practice Primer.
