OxfordPress.com

HAMILTON — Hamilton High School linebacker Denicos Allen has whittled his collegiate short list down to three schools — the University of Cincinnati, Illinois and Michigan State.

"I like how they play, and those are the schools that have been recruiting me the hardest," said Allen, who will be a senior this fall.

UC and Illinois have already made scholarship offers, and Allen said the coaches at Michigan State told him they would make an offer once he comes up and visits with head coach Mark Dantonio.

"There's a lot of pressure, but I'm trying not to pay much attention to it," said the 6-foot, 208-pound Allen. "Right now, I'm focusing more on high school ball. I think we're going to have a really good season. We've got a lot of young talent, and it's really good young talent."

Allen said ideally he would like to have his decision made before the season starts, but he knows that may not be possible because the schools usually want their recruits to make their visits during the season so they can experience the game-day atmosphere.

Allen already has made a couple of unofficial visits to UC, and he said he liked what he saw.

"I went to a couple of games last year, and that got me really excited about UC," he said. "I really like what they're doing down there."

And HHS coach Jim Place likes what Allen is doing here.

"He's a great kid, a 100-percenter who does everything right," Place said. "He's gotten bigger and he's gotten stronger — he's benching 375 — but the most important thing is his mental approach is so much better. He's very, very focused on his goals.

"Denicos is a great leader, and he's ready to be a senior," Place continued. "He kind of sat back the last couple of years and let the seniors lead, and now he's dying to step up and be a leader."