MC Star Receiver Jake Allen Joins Green Bay Packers Active Roster
Allen just signed a contract with the Packers active roster after the MC kinesiology graduate joined the team's practice squad in early September for the second year in a row.
"We are very excited for Jake," said MC School of Education Dean Don Locke. "He obviously earned a position on the team and we will be looking for him," he said. "That's great."
Allen will wear No. 13 for the Packers. He joins a team that takes on the Minnesota Vikings in a high-profile game this weekend. The Vikings have a new quarterback named Brett Favre, 40, an 18-year NFL veteran who played most of his seasons with the Packers.
A huge national TV audience of tens of millions will be watching to see how the former Southern Miss star quarterback does against his old team from Wisconsin. Lots of MC Choctaws fans will be watching, too, to see how Allen performs for The Pack.
At MC, Allen, who received his degree in exercise science last summer, holds records for career receptions with 15, receiving yards - 2,867 - and touchdowns with 26. Many football fans on the Clinton campus consider Allen to be the best receiver in MC history, at the very top in Division III athletics and a standout in American Southwest Conference circles.
Standing 6'4" and weighing 196 pounds, the fleet-footed Allen would be an excellent target for Packers QB Aaron Rogers. The Shubuta native is a former letterman at Wayne County High and ex-player at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
Last year during pre-season, Jake hauled in a touchdown pass. There's a new Jake Allen Fan Club this fall with members cheering on the Mississippi native with his never give up attitude.
MC fans were hoping to see Allen elevated to the Packers 53-man squad and this big news is happening as Jake's alma mater gears up for its 2009 Homecoming.
Allen spent all of last season on the Packers practice squad in 2008. After being cut before the Packers opened their season against the Chicago Bears Sept. 13, he spent the first seven weeks of the 2009 NFL season on the practice squad.
Allen will join another talented Mississippian on the Packers - Donald Driver, 34, a former Alcorn State star receiver.
Allen enjoyed an All-American career at Mississippi College from 2005-07. In his final season, Allen was named a First Team All-American by the AFCA.
As the Choctaws get ready to cheer Saturday for the MC team that sports a 6-1 record and No. 13 national ranking in NCAA Division III circles, many at Robinson-Hale Stadium will also be pulling for a successful NFL start for Allen. Many predict the MC grad will be playing on many Sundays in NFL stadiums for years to come.
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