Just a couple weeks after completing his second season in the NFL, Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was selected to be a member of the Northern Virginia Football Hall Of Fame.
The Stonebridge High School product and Ashburn native will be honored in person on Sunday, March 3, as the Hall of Fame banquet at the McLean Hilton in Tysons Corner. The event will mark the 29th year that this banquet has honored area youth and high school players as well as adults who volunteer their time to coach and serve their communities' football programs.
This will actually be Allen's second time attending the event, as he was honored seven years ago for being one of Northern Virginia's top high school players at the time. This year, he will be inducted alongside his high school head coach Mickey Thompson, who has remained close with Allen since he graduated.
"It means a lot," Allen said. "When you look back at all the great players to come out of this area, and then to see me as one of those players is kind of unreal. So it's definitely a huge honor and a blessing for me to even be in a position to receive this award. It didn't seem real when I first heard the news. It's just a blessing."
During his senior season at Stonebridge, he posted 119 tackles with nine sacks, six fumble recoveries, eight pass breakups, six blocked kicks and had seven pass breakups. He earned Gatorade Virginia Football Player of the Year and garnered first-team Parade All-American and second-team USA Today All-American honors.
In his career at Alabama, he recorded 154 career tackles (78 solo), 45 tackles for loss, 28.5 sacks, seven pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
"He was the best," Thompson told Redskins.com when Allen was drafted by the Redskins. "You find out quickly that he is one of the best players you're going to have you don't know what level; you can't predict the kind of rise he had when he first comes to you. You knew he was a good football player but how good he was, over the next couple of years, we were finding out slowly."
According to its website, "the Northern Virginia Football Hall of Fame is an organization that recognizes and promotes the special efforts of individuals from the local youth and scholastic football programs as well as their collegiate and professional counterparts.
"This recognition includes the Inductees to the Hall of Fame that represent the rich history of the sport in the area as well as current football Players, Coaches, Cheerleaders, Officials, Administrators, and other individuals exhibiting outstanding dedication to the sport from both the scholastic and youth club ranks."
Furthermore, "player and cheerleader awards are based upon leadership, dedication, conduct, character, and scholastic as well as athletic achievements. In bestowing these awards, NVFHOF strives to positively influence and reward the integrity, sportsmanship, and character of the individuals and the great game of football."
