Drew Allen: Syracuse Got Back To Me 'Within 15 Minutes'

Kevin Fitzgerald over at Orange Fizz got a chance to hop on the phone with incoming Syracuse Orange quarterback Drew Allen. Go give it a listen here and check out the highlights below...

On his first friendship on the SU football team...

"I'm excited to get up there. Jarrod [West] was my host on my visit. He and I are already good buddies. We text all the time and communicate, so building that relationship is key."

On other Orange players he's met so far...

"Jerome [Smith]...He's a good guy. A guy who made an impression on me...talked to him for about twenty seconds, is the center, MacPherson. I can just tell he's a smart guy. It's gonna be good having him at center, such an experienced, smart guy, looking forward to that."

On his feelings leaving Oklahoma behind...

"It's not what I wanted to do at all...I graduated early from high school to come up here just cause I fell in love with it. I wanted to come up here and take advantage of the opportunities to learn from these coaches and be in this system for as long as possible. I really have no regrets in any of the decisions I made but this decision to leave was very tough. But I have to do what's best for me in terms of my football career. It sure is nice to have a school like Syracuse to come to."

What does he bring to the table...

"What I really want to do when I come to Syracuse is just make an impact on everybody. I'm only there for a short amount of time. I want that impact to be a positive one. I want it reflect me as a player and a person, that I'm here for business. I want to win football games and I want to do anything and everything I can. I like to lead vocally and I like to lead by example. I'm a hard worker. As far as playing...I've learned from the best, been taught by the best.

When did he first get in touch with Syracuse...

"Syracuse came along because, I felt like, we needed a couple more options. I sent some emails out to some schools that lost their quarterback to the draft or didn't have a set quarterback and Syracuse was one of them. I heard back from Syracuse within fifteen minutes of the email. They didn't know about me. They didn't know that I was available or looking around, so I was glad I was able to get that email out there.

I took that Syracuse visit within two weeks of them contacting me...I absolutely just fell in love with the place, the coaches, the atmosphere, the type of offense they wanted to run. I took a little bit more time after the visit...and decided to commit about three weeks later. I really wanted to make sure I was doing this process justice...and I know that I have done that."

The thing that really stood out to me was when Coach Shafer called me. He said, 'Drew, we got your email, we want to recruit you. Appreciate you sending the email. I've been on the phone with Coach Stoops'...I came to find out that he and Coach Stoops had an Ohio connection...'I talked to him, he gave me the rundown on who you are and what you're about, that's all I needed.'

Does Drew have an obligatory "George McDonald is the best thing to ever happen to Syracuse Football" story...

"[One guy] that really made an impression on not just me but my parents...Coach McDonald, his passion for the game and the way he coaches and the way he talked to me and my parents, made a big impression on us."

Listen to the whole thing here.