Published: July 19, 2007 12:50 am      

Boogie Allen likely to start as a sophomore

MORGANTOWN — Franchot “Boogie” Allen likely will start at a strong safety position this fall for West Virginia University as a sophomore.

The 6-1, 195-pound Jacksonville, Fla., native earned a letter as a true freshman at cornerback in 2006. He had prepped at Milford (N.Y.) Academy the previous year.

Appearing in seven games, Allen recorded 14 tackles and returned a pass interception 24 yards.

“I got to play in the Gator Bowl victory over Georgia Tech and that was a thrill,” he said during a break in summer workouts. “My family finally got to see me play, and it was exciting to win in my hometown.”

Allen thinks WVU’s defense will be stronger this season, including the secondary. “We get together after working out and do drills to disguise what we do on defense,” he said. “We also go seven-on-seven two times a week.

“That’s fun and it’s certainly beneficial. The summer workouts also promote camaraderie. We just hang out together and try to learn what each other thinks.”

He believes that’s an important part of preparing for fall camp.

“We need to know what each other is thinking when we are on the field,” he said. “So there aren’t as many mistakes as there were last year.”

Allen said all of the defensive players got tired seeing themselves on ESPN giving up a lot of yards to opponents during the National Football League draft. For example, Calvin Johnson, a top pick, caught nine passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns against WVU.

“Just seeing those highlights over and over again got really old,” he admitted. “We don’t want that to happen again.”

Allen helped Milford Academy to a 9-2 record in 2005. Before that, he was a standout at Trinity Christian High School in Jacksonville.

He helped the Conquerors to back-to-back state championships and a state runner-up finish his senior year.