Roster Rundown: No. 11 Beau Allen

Beau Allen and Joey Gatewood form perhaps the most intriguing pair of incoming UK quarterback prospects since at least Ryan Mossakowski and Ryan Newton.

Allen, who will wear No. 11 in his true freshman season, was right in the Cats' backyard all along.

He's next up in Cats Illustrated's Roster Rundown series.

Background: Cats Illustrated first had an opportunity to watch Allen at a 7-on-7 tournament held at Kentucky following his freshman season at Lexington Catholic. UK quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw was familiar with Allen then and only learned more about him as the process dragged on and Allen aged.

Washington State under Mike Leach and Duke with David Cutcliffe were among the other schools that recruited Allen the hardest. Early in his high school career Allen took a swing through the west coast, perhaps then a signal that he was open to leaving home. But in the end, UK's persistence, location, and the familiarity that came with it paid off in the form of Allen's commitment.

Allen was a four-star prospect according to Rivals.com and one of the top players in the state by everyone's estimation. He pledged to UK at a commitment ceremony at his high school.

He enrolled early as the quarterback room started to take a vastly different look than the one it had a year ago.

2020 Outlook: UK's quarterback room this year will include three players who were injured at some point in the last year: Terry Wilson, the presumed starter, but also Sawyer Smith and Nik Scalzo. Amani Gilmore has since transferred to North Texas but Auburn quarterback Joey Gatewood takes his place on the roster.

So where does Allen fit into that mix?

It's very hard to say. The spring was to be an excellent opportunity for Allen to really showcase himself, especially with Wilson out and more reps available, but that was cut short by COVID-19. Hinshaw probably has a pretty good idea of what he's working with in Allen's talent, from years of evaluation, several days on the practice field, and lots of meetings, first on campus and then via Zoom.

The long and short of it: Allen isn't expected to start this year but the backup situations are anyone's guess. Under the more expected circumstances Allen would keep a redshirt, which could help both he and the program, but everyone saw last year how quickly quarterback depth can be tested.

Allen's top attributes seem to be his accuracy, deep ball, and mind for the game.