Kazmeir Allen Becomes the First Commit of UCLA Football’s Chip Kelly Era

[UPDATE 11:08 am]: This article was updated to reflect the fact that Allen is generally considered more of a 3-star prospect, rather than a 4-star prospect as stated originally.

Yesterday, Kazmeir Allen, a 3-star running back from Tulare Union High School in Tulare, CA, became the first recruit to commit to UCLA Football since new head coach Chip Kelly was hired.

Allen is 5'9" tall and weighs 165 lbs. According to his Hudl profile, he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds and has a 3.5 GPA.

As can be expected, Allen is excited to be coming to UCLA. He told Scout’s Greg Biggins:

UCLA is the offer I really wanted. Right when Chip Kelly got the job, I told someone that I wanted to go to UCLA and thought it was the perfect system for me.

I talked to coach (Deshaun) Foster the day Chip got the job and he told me he would have good news for me and sure enough. Coach Foster came to my school on Tuesday and offered and then I talked to coach Kelly last night.

I committed to him during our phone conversation, there was no need for me to wait. Coach Kelly is a genius and this is the perfect situation for me. He knows how to use dudes like me with my size and ability, it's just the perfect fit.

It feels great to be his first commitment at UCLA, it's a cool feeling for sure. I'm just really excited right now to be a Bruin and excited about this opportunity for me.

Allen is fast and elusive. He rushed for just under 3,000 yards this season and scored 70 (yes, 70) touchdowns in 13 games. That’s more than 5 per game. After watching some of his highlights from this year, it’s easy to think that Tulare Union just played some bad opponents, but averaging more than 5 TDs per game over the course of 13 games means that this wasn’t just the case of playing a few bad teams. Take a look for yourself and check out Allen’s senior season highlights from Hudl.

Yes, it certainly looks like Kazmeir Allen will be a great weapon in Coach Kelly’s arsenal over the next few years.

Welcome to Westwood, Kazmeir!


Go Bruins!!!