Michigan State Football: Matt Allen has major shoes to fill in 2018

Coming in as part of the 2016 class, Matt Allen got to learn behind his All-Big Ten brother Brian Allen as a freshman for Michigan State football.

When one Allen leaves, another one appears. It’s a crazy magic trick that has benefited Michigan State for the past 5-6 years and will continue in 2018 with Matt Allen.

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First came Jack Allen, an All-American center who has since signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. Then it was Brian Allen, a former Freshman All-American who burst onto the scene right away and started in each of his four seasons in East Lansing — he was drafted by the Rams in Round 4 of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Matt is the latest to grab the reigns of the center position, but he has some major shoes to fill as his brothers were All-American talents.

The sophomore redshirted in 2016 and played sparingly behind his brother in 2017. Now that Brian has graduated and is playing at the next level, it’s Matt’s turn to show what he’s got. He has already lived up to his family name at the high school level, even winning a state title in wrestling like his older brothers and getting recruited by MSU.

Taking the reigns of that offensive line won’t be easy, but he’s already transitioning without much stress on his shoulders.

It may not seem like a big deal that he’s dancing around in practice, but that shows the young center is enjoying himself and loving the sport.

Although he has those gigantic shoes to fill, he played well in limited action in 2017 and put together a strong spring. He’ll be atop the depth chart under center come kickoff in August and ready to go.

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The Allen brothers will go down as one of the best football siblings in Michigan State history, if they haven’t already.