Sports

For Allen, it’s all the small things

• One wouldn’t know that UGA’s modest Asher Allen just came off his best game as a Bulldog in a win vs. Alabama.

Colin Chmielewski

ATHENS — Asher Allen talks a lot about the "small things" in football.

It's no wonder then that the Georgia cornerback spent much of Tuesday deflecting the attention away from himself. Media hype and statistics may be a big deal in some people's eyes, but they definitely aren't important on the field to Allen.

So forgive the sophomore if he wasn't interested in soaking in the good vibes from his 11-tackle performance in the Bulldogs' 26-23 overtime win at Alabama. As quickly as he agreed that he had played his best game, Allen was talking about the team.

"It was great just to help the team," he said. "I was just happy to be in the right place at the right time on many plays. There are 10 other guys on defense. Without them, I wouldn't be able to do what I do."

What Allen did against the Crimson Tide was clearly his landmark game as a Bulldog. Allen played in all 13 games as a true freshman, totaling 24 tackles. Last week, he almost had half that many in one game. Allen moved into the starting lineup — opposite senior cornerback Thomas Flowers — for the Western Carolina game after coming off the bench in the first two. But his play at Alabama will make it hard for anyone to knock him out of that starting spot.

"We really like Asher," junior linebacker Marcus Washington said. "Asher's a guy who gets the job done. They kept challenging Asher (against Alabama). They were running the ball at him, they were throwing the ball at him and he stepped up."

Despite Allen's career-best game, Georgia coach Mark Richt said he doesn't expect to see a change in the way his cornerback goes about things.

"I think he's the kind of guy who won't allow that kind of performance to get to his head," he said.

As if he was backing up his coach's prediction, Allen — of course — found a flaw with his biggest play from Saturday's win. With the Crimson Tide facing a third-and-10 in overtime, Allen broke up a pass to D.J. Hall that would have gone for a crucial first down. Instead, Alabama had to settle for a field goal, and the Bulldogs won the game on the next play.

"I should've picked it," Allen said of the pass to Hall. "But I'm always gonna say that. If the ball's in my area, I feel like I should catch it every time."

That kind of attitude isn't a surprise to Allen's teammates. Receiver Mohamed Massaquoi goes against Allen in practice and sees it every day from the 5-foot-10, 190-pounder.

"He's the type of guy who puts a lot of pressure on himself," Massaquoi said. "He's a guy that's always focused. He's a technician. He's a perfectionist. He goes out there with the mentality that he has to get better."

As a true freshman from Tucker, Allen spent last season learning under a veteran defense. Other than gaining game experience, he said watching last year's leaders taught him the most.

"Just being around Tony Taylor and Tra Battle and Paul Oliver was a blessing," Allen said. "Just seeing how they practiced, seeing how they played, seeing how they worked in the film room, in the weight room. You know, small things like that really helped my game."

His watchful eye became especially important when Oliver — who was expected to be a senior leader for the Bulldogs — was lost to academics this offseason. Allen was just one of a glut of sophomores and juniors — Bryan Evans, Ramarcus Brown and Prince Miller — left competing for the open job. Although it took Allen a couple games, he now appears to have his grip on the starting spot.

"He's playing physical. He's reacting more quickly to things," Richt said. "He just really understands what he's doing over there. He's a fierce competitor."

And because he focuses on the small things, it's easy to see much bigger things for Allen.

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