Antonio Allen (born September 23, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dutie ...

. Allen was drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round, 242nd overall pick of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He played college football at

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

Early years

Allen attended Trinity Catholic High School in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home t ...

. Allen earned first-team all-state honors after his senior season at Trinity Catholic.

College career

Allen the University of South Carolina from 2008 to 2011. He played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

his first two years before switching to safety. He finished his career with 198 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

and two

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

Professional career

Allen was considered one of the top safety prospects heading into the

New York Jets

The New York Jets drafted Allen using their seventh round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft. Allen came to an agreement with the team on a four-year contract that included a $45,896 signing bonus. Allen was waived on September 1, 2012. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad a day later. Allen was promoted to the active roster on October 12, 2012 after the team placed Darrelle Revis on injured reserve. On November 6, 2012, he was waived after the team re-signed Jason Hill. He was signed to the practice squad two days later after clearing waivers. Allen was promoted to the active roster on December 6, 2012. Allen entered the 2013 preseason competing with newly signed Jaiquawn Jarrett for the starting free safety job. Allen finished the 2013 season with 60 tackles, a sack, and an interception for a touchdown. Allen was waived by the Jets on August 7, 2015 after suffering an Achilles tendon injury. After clearing waivers, he was placed on injured reserve on August 10, 2015.

Houston Texans

Allen signed with the Houston Texans on March 16, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Texans.

Second stint with New York Jets

On September 6, 2016, Allen re-signed with the New York Jets. He was waived/injured on December 10, 2016 and placed on injured reserve.

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Antonio 1988 births Living people African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks American football safeties American football linebackers Sportspeople from Ocala, Florida South Carolina Gamecocks football players New York Jets players Houston Texans players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people