Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame
Carl Allen
- Induction:
- 1987
   Down through the years the Southern Miss football program has gained a reputation as a place where walk-ons would be given a chance to show what they can do. And many of those players eventually would go on to make great contributions to Golden Eagle football and even to earn a scholarship.
   Carl Allen was one of those players that began his career as a walk-on and left as one of the best defensive backs in school history.
   He excelled at Southern Miss because he had good speed and was a bruising tackler who played the game with reckless forcefulness.
   Allen had been a flanker and a cornerback at Hattiesburg (Miss.) High School, but didn’t receive much attention from major colleges. He elected to stay home, get an education and try to make a name for himself on the football field. He did exactly that and in the process helped began a resurgence of Southern Miss football in the mid ’70s.
   He moved into the Golden Eagle starting lineup in the fourth game of his sophomore year (1974) against West Texas State. The team would finish the year with a 6-5 record, but were 5-3 after Allen moved in as a starting cornerback. That ’74 team was one of the best in the country on pass defense. They allowed opponents an average of 91.0 passing yards a game, ranking 14th. Once Allen moved into the starting lineup the Southern defense allowed only one opponent to score more than 14 points in a game.
   Allen continued his solid play during the 1975 season as the team posted a 7-4 record as the defense became one of the best in the country. He would make 58 tackles that season and record the first interception of his career. That year with Allen a key member of the secondary the Golden Eagles ranked 30th in pass defense allowing 97.3 yards per game. Overall the defense was 10th in the country giving up 233.8 yards a game and 15th in scoring defense with 11.7 points given up per game. The defense held nine of the 11 opponents that year to 16 points or less and recorded a 70-0 shutout of Cal State-Fullerton.
    Although the 1976 Golden Eagle team struggled to a 2-9 record, Allen continue to establish himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the country. He made 69 tackles that year and had three interceptions for 44 yards and returned one for a touchdown.
   Allen was drafted in the 11th round (299th player overall) of the 1977 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. After being traded to the Saint Louis he played with the Cardinals until 1982. He then spent three seasons in the USFL with the Chicago Blitz, Arizona Wranglers and Arizona Outlaws.
   When you evaluate Allen's career as a football player, one thing seems to always show up. He never quit and he always excelled when the odds seemed to be against him. He believed in himself and in his abilities and because of that he became a winner both on the field and off.
   His talents on the football field made him special in the annals of football history at Southern Miss, but it was his spirit and drive that made him so unique
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   Carl Allen was one of those players that began his career as a walk-on and left as one of the best defensive backs in school history.
   He excelled at Southern Miss because he had good speed and was a bruising tackler who played the game with reckless forcefulness.
   Allen had been a flanker and a cornerback at Hattiesburg (Miss.) High School, but didn’t receive much attention from major colleges. He elected to stay home, get an education and try to make a name for himself on the football field. He did exactly that and in the process helped began a resurgence of Southern Miss football in the mid ’70s.
   He moved into the Golden Eagle starting lineup in the fourth game of his sophomore year (1974) against West Texas State. The team would finish the year with a 6-5 record, but were 5-3 after Allen moved in as a starting cornerback. That ’74 team was one of the best in the country on pass defense. They allowed opponents an average of 91.0 passing yards a game, ranking 14th. Once Allen moved into the starting lineup the Southern defense allowed only one opponent to score more than 14 points in a game.
   Allen continued his solid play during the 1975 season as the team posted a 7-4 record as the defense became one of the best in the country. He would make 58 tackles that season and record the first interception of his career. That year with Allen a key member of the secondary the Golden Eagles ranked 30th in pass defense allowing 97.3 yards per game. Overall the defense was 10th in the country giving up 233.8 yards a game and 15th in scoring defense with 11.7 points given up per game. The defense held nine of the 11 opponents that year to 16 points or less and recorded a 70-0 shutout of Cal State-Fullerton.
    Although the 1976 Golden Eagle team struggled to a 2-9 record, Allen continue to establish himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the country. He made 69 tackles that year and had three interceptions for 44 yards and returned one for a touchdown.
   Allen was drafted in the 11th round (299th player overall) of the 1977 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. After being traded to the Saint Louis he played with the Cardinals until 1982. He then spent three seasons in the USFL with the Chicago Blitz, Arizona Wranglers and Arizona Outlaws.
   When you evaluate Allen's career as a football player, one thing seems to always show up. He never quit and he always excelled when the odds seemed to be against him. He believed in himself and in his abilities and because of that he became a winner both on the field and off.
   His talents on the football field made him special in the annals of football history at Southern Miss, but it was his spirit and drive that made him so unique
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