Broaddus: LA Story Part 1: Scout Recalls Introductory Look At Larry Allen

[WoodysGirl]

Bryan Broaddus Football Analyst/Scout

Editor’s Note: As former Cowboys’ Pro Bowl lineman Larry Allen approaches this weekend’s Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement, where it’s expected “LA” will get the prestigious honor in his first year of eligibility, the staff at DallasCowboys.com will reflect on his career all week. Today, football analyst and former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus caught up with scouting director Tom Ciskowski, who recalled his first visit with Larry Allen.)

The dream for every scout that travels on the road is to find that one player that has that type of career that is worthy of the Hall of Fame. Before Tom Ciskowski was the assistant director of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, he was a scout on the West Coast. His territory was the largest of all the scouting regions which meant that not all of his days were at USC looking at players. There were plenty of days spent at schools with the football budget less than what the Trojans spend on uniforms.

One day when Ciskowski was in Oregon calling on Portland State, he ran into a coach on the staff named Tim Walsh who just got the head coaching job after a successful run at Sonoma State. It was Walsh that alerted Ciskowski of a potential prospect with the Cossacks named Larry Allen.

Walsh gave Ciskowski Allen’s background and told him how if he was one year younger that he could have played at anyone of the PAC 10 schools at the time but because of his grades, the only opportunities he had were with Sonoma State or a junior college, with Allen choosing to go the route of Sonoma. Ciskowski remembers Allen being a very quiet kid almost to the point he questioned whether he really loved football but when he studied him that day, he knew that was not going to be a problem.

Read more: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/ar...a-f2e686863059

[since75]

Larry Allen was one of the great ones, seems like I remember LA chasing down a linebacker on a turnover and preventing a TD

Couldn't help myself, check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFcWMC9vkZg

[Illini88228]

Originally Posted by since75

Larry Allen was one of the great ones, seems like I remember LA chasing down a linebacker on a turnover and preventing a TD

The famous LA sprint.

[MichaelWinicki]

I've re-watched that play dozens of times over the years and it still floors me.

[Aven8]

Originally Posted by Illini88228

The famous LA sprint.

[GusTheo]

It's amazing on a few different levels. The speed of a guy that size, he took the best angle possible, timed his dive perfectly. You see that kind of pursuit from a linebacker, not a young offensive lineman.

[burmafrd]

Why am I not surprised that Lacewell was a skeptic?

[Yakuza Rich]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

Why am I not surprised that Lacewell was a skeptic?

He's like the Adam Schiff of football evaluation.





YR

[Future]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

I've re-watched that play dozens of times over the years and it still floors me.

Seriously.

And the announcing is classic..."LARRY ALLEN!?!?"

[MichaelWinicki]

Originally Posted by Future

Seriously.

And the announcing is classic..."LARRY ALLEN!?!?"

LOL!

All of a sudden the interception part of the play took a back seat.

It's just a great sequence. Larry's standing there and then all of a sudden he takes off like a rocket.

[Eddie]

Hmmmm .... Shante Carver or Larry Allen?