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USC RB Buck Allen expected to enter 2015 NFL Draft

ByCM Towle|

USC Trojans running back Javorius Buck Allen is expected to leave the NCAA ranks and declare for the 2015 NFL draft.

Unsure of what he was doing a week ago, it is now expected that USC running back Javorius “Buck” Allen will indeed declare for the 2015 NFL draft.

Allen was undecided a week ago about where he wanted to go, as Fansided’s Michael Castillo wrote. He ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the Holiday Bowl, where USC topped Nebraska in a close game 45-42. Buck said after the game that he had no idea what his decision would be on the NFL draft. Allen even said his family had no idea when the draft was, just that his family knew he was doing good at USC.

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Allen is an academic senior and is only one class short of his bachelor’s degree. In fact, the remaining class could easily be completed remotely, so obviously his school situation wasn’t a factor in his reported decision. Assuming Allen is leaving for the draft, USC will be a little thin in the running game next season.

Allen had a good 2014 season, finishing it with 1,489 rushing yards, which is good for the most by any USC running back since Reggie Bush put up 1,740 in 2005 during his junior season.

Declaring for the draft is probably a good decision by Allen, regardless of how it will affect USC next year. Allen is 23 and many running backs have a hard time making it past 30 in the hard-hitting NFL. Allen took plenty of contact in 2014, as noted by Alicia de Artola of Fansided, and his 276 attempts were way up from the 774 he had in 2013. He is definitely of the age and performance level to succeed in the NFL.

The cons for him could be that he might find himself going in later rounds, with top backs such as Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley and Ameer Abdullah already declared for the draft. That and the fact that taking a running back in the first round is rarely done as much anymore. The third round could be his best bet. His fumbling issues and noticeable slow-down in the latter part of the year might be criticisms for teams looking at him.

From Artola’s earlier post:

"Rob Rang from CBS Sports praised Allen’s “high-cut frame and a gliding, deceptively powerful running style.” He also noted that Allen is capable of contributing in other facets of the game as a blocker and a receiver.Walter Football noted Allen is “a physical back who has a nice burst” and “has strength to him to pick up yards after contact” but worried about his ball-security. They project he would thrive in a zone-blocking scheme."

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