Ohio lineman on a meteoric rise

Six months ago, class of 2019 Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar offensive lineman Jonathan Allen had never played a competitive snap of football in his life. Now he is one of the most heavily recruited junior prospects in the state of Ohio. It has truly been a meteoric rise for the 6-foot-6, 320-pound prospect.

"It has been crazy, I didn't expect it," said Allen. "I just played my heart out every game and I get what I get. I'm very thankful."

Allen comes from a basketball background, he starts at center for his high school team, one of the most prestigious programs in Ohio. He athleticism coming from that basketball background has been huge in speeding up his transition to football. The process of adding strength has been the biggest eye-opener so far.

"The hardest part has really been lifting weights," he said. "I was behind the curve with that and never lifted in the off-season or anything. I really just started lifting during this season."

Allen has several offers to his name already, including Big Ten programs like Iowa and Wisconsin. Ohio State has also been showing a lot of interest recently. Assistants Kevin Wilson and Tony Alford have both made trips to Dunbar High School in recent weeks, Wilson's trip was specifically to gather more information on Allen.

"It feels great that they are interested," Allen said of the Buckeyes. "That's my favorite college team. I've been watching all of their games and it would be great to get an offer from them."

Allen admitted that an offer from Ohio State would be a game changer.

"It would be tough to turn that down," he said.

In general, Allen considers himself a homebody and will likely keep his search within the Midwest.

"I'm trying to stay home," he said. "I'm thankful for all of my offers, but I'm going to try to stay close to home."

Allen says he plans to visit Ohio State and Duke in the near future.