Although his days on the Pulaski turf are finished his grid career is not complete. The central New York star was offered, and accepted, a full scholarship to Syracuse University.
Allport didn’t start the year on many major college radars. Early last summer Syracuse coaches told him that if he wanted to receive a scholarship offer he’d have to drop some weight (he was 330 lbs) and improve on his core strength. Allport took them to heart by joining Strength In Motion, an athletic training facility run by former Syracuse trainer Corey Parker. “Syracuse had some reservations about his weight level and speed” Pulaski head coach Rich Murphy said. “His work ethic on and off the field is unmatched” he added.
The 6’5 recruit has traveled the 30 miles south to Syracuse since early last summer. With a 4-day / 2 hour regiment Allport dropped his weight 30 pounds and increased his vertical leap by 30%. As he upped his bench to 350 pounds he trimmed ¼ of a second off his 40-yd time. “I’ve gotten a lot lighter and faster” Allport says. “I’ve also increased my explosiveness”
“Our initial interest in Ian went beyond physical skills. We liked the way he handles himself as a student and a person – these qualities, along with his athleticism, made him stand out.” Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said.
According to Coach Murphy Ian is “academically among the top in his class. He has earned well over 24 college credits while still in high school”. The Albright winner won’t shy away from the academic load while at SU as he’s leaning towards a major in Chemistry.
A very successful season culminated with Ian earning All-League, All-CNY and All-State honors while being named the Jon Arcaro senior all-star game defensive MVP. He also garnered Super Prep All-Northeast Team and Prep Stars All-East Team accolades. He’s rated the 15th best prospect in NY by Super Prep and the 162nd best offensive tackle in the country by Scout.com.
Coach Murphy used Ian’s versatility on the field. “He filled many roles on our team; team captain, right tackle, fullback, defensive tackle, middle linebacker and tight end at times.” Statistically he had: 61 tackles, 11 for loss, 8 sacks, 4 fumbles caused, 1 fumble recovered on defense and 136 yards on 28 carries on offense.
Allport will report to Syracuse the day after he graduates on June 29th. He’ll start summer classes and working out with the team. “We are really looking forward to having Ian as part of the team. We have high expectations for him. The offensive line position takes a period of time to get comfortable with and we’d like to believe that the learning curve for Ian will be short.” Coach Robinson said.
Ian beat out strong competition for this years Albright Award. Others nominated were: Mike Phillips (APW), Nick Moran (Central Square), Mike Clark (Fulton), Ron Majerus (Mexico) and Paul Raymond (Phoenix). Phillips was a defensive standout with 119 tackles. Moran had nearly 1500 yards of total offense and 17 TDs. Clark had 955 yards of total offense while starting his 3rd year at QB. Majerus had a school record 1402 yards rushing while scoring 18 TDs. Raymond tallied 1200 yards rushing with 14 total TDs.
The Albright Award is named for Mexico’s Eddie Albright who died in a car accident in 1997. This year’s selection committee comprised of college coaches, media representatives and sports dignitaries used a point system to select the winner. Allport received 12 - 1st place votes ( 146 pts ) while Majerus claimed the remaining 5 top nods ( 104 pts ).
Two of the other previous three Albright Award winners will also be playing major college football again this year. Central Squares Irvan Brown (Pittsburgh) and Jeff Stehle (Wisconsin) are both likely candidates for heavy playing time this fall.
Although Allport is only traveling a few miles down the road to continue his playing career he is traveling worlds apart in the level of competition. He admits to being a little anxious about jumping from Class C football on the state level to the national Division I, Football Bowl Subdivision (which was formerly referred to as Div 1-A).
“I’m a little nervous but still pretty confident” he said. His dream is simple. “I hope to definitely get a great education and I hope to start in the next few years.”
With his proven drive and determination it is unlikely that he will fail at either goal.