Attending Michigan State University was hardly Otis Allen’s dream when growing up. Allen was born in Dothan, Alabama to two Auburn alumni who were die-hard Tigers fans throughout his years growing up. Although he spent his formative years in Detroit, Michigan, his parents always wore their fandom on their sleeve. Every Saturday morning you would be sure to see the Allen family hanging their Auburn football flag on their front porch for game day. Second to Auburn, Allen sought out the University of Michigan as a collegiate destination. Past their track and field program which Allen heard great things about, many friends and athletes that Otis interacted with while growing up dreamed of being a Wolverine. When Allen became a standout shot put and discus athlete during his junior and senior years of high school he thought that he was a shoe-in for a starting spot on the Wolverine track and field team. While he did get offered a full ride scholarship to UofM, due to a projected “log jam” of talent on the team Allen was not projected to be a starting representative for the team from day 1. This led Otis to make the difficult decision to choose a scholarship to Michigan State University where he would attend and soon after walk on to the football team.
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