Hard to believe, but there are under 50 days until the Broncos storm the Capital to take on the Hokies. As you may remember, last summer I embarked on the Herculean task of counting down a different roster spot for each remaining day until kickoff. So far this year, we're batting a thousand, so drop me notes of encouragement now and again so I can find the strength to get through the next couple months without breaking the streak.
We've got 44 days until kickoff...so today we'll highlight one of the two players that wear #44 on the Boise State football roster—Allen Mooney
#44, Allen Mooney, RS Freshman, LB
Stats
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 211 lbs.
High School: O'Dea High School, Maple Valley, WA
How'd he get to The Blue™?
In lieu of buying a costly tackling machine, O'Dea High School in Washington decided to just let Allen Mooney play linebacker. Mooney earned 3 varsity football letters at O'Dea and was named first-team all-conference as a junior and second-team all-conference as a sophomore. It should be noted that Mooney only played one season of football that was even close to complete—his sophomore and senior seasons were severely truncated due to injury—but Mooney's production each year was still impressive. As a senior, Mooney recorded 35 tackles and one sack in just three games—an average of nearly 12 tackles/game! As a junior, Mooney recorded 106 tackles (36 for loss), 2 sacks, an interception and 3 forced fumbles, and he missed 3.5 games that year. As a sophomore, recorded 55 tackles (20 for loss), 5 sacks and two forced fumbles in just five games (11 tackles/game). Also an honor roll student, Mooney was rated a 3-star recruit and the 24th best MLB in the nation. He was offered by Boise State, Army, and UCLA. If you want to see what a healthy Allen Mooney is capable of, consider the following a public service:
Oh...the floor is where you'd like these bodies deposited? Why didn't you say so?
Nickname
"Masher" [mash-er]
No reasoning cited.
Look-a-like
"Imma let you finish..."
Career highlights
Earning all-conference honors as a sophomore and junior. Averaging over ten tackles per game during his high school career.
Career lowlights
Injuries, injuries, injuries.
2010 prospectus
We got to see precious little of Allen Mooney his redshirt year. Aside from a providing some good pops in one scrimmage, the stocky Mooney was (in what will become a recurring theme) limited by injuries and somewhat dinged up. Unfortunately, this spring was no different. In fact, both of Boise State's highly-touted 2009 linebacker signees were the walking wounded this Spring...and it's a shame, because everyone is excited to see what the pair can do. Alas, they're only freshman, so they'll have plenty of opportunities to see action...possibly even this year.
Mooney was the picture of productivity in high school, even with severely injury-shortened seasons. He isn't the fastest kid on the field, but is a sure tackler, makes good contact with the ball carrier and takes good angles. Also, from what I've seen, Mooney has a good motor and doesn't shy away from the big hit in the least. I remember him delivering one of the more memorable sticks last season in a scrimmage that could be heard far and wide. Mooney will need to show in Fall Camp that his knee is ready for action if he wants to see the field at all in 2010. With Derrell Acrey making good strides in Spring Camp, and Byron Hout, Tommy Smith and Daron Mackey all having shown what they can do, it's Mooney that remains the unknown quantity. I think that with Mackey and Acrey graduating this year, it's a safe assumption that Mooney will be more of a factor in 2011 at the MIKE position. He might see some time in mop-up this season, but I think another year of strengthening the knee and strengthening his grasp of the defense will do wonders for him when he's called upon to join the two-deep roster.
Completely made up fact
The reverend Sun Myung Moon, leader of "The Moonies" has filed suit against Allen Mooney for copyright infringement.