Prep football | One last chance to shine for Palmetto's Miami-bound QB Jack Allison
PALMETTO -- G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton is quietest after sundown, when the Little League practices have ended and the football fields are dark and uninhabitable. The only light left is the one glowing on the softball field and spilling out across the outfield.
For a few hours, Jack Allison has his private training facility.
With his coach diligently watching his movements, Allison goes through his drops. He focuses on getting the rhythm right and shifting his weight properly. Then he goes through progressions, finishing his drills with work on his throwing motion.
The tutor is his father, Sean Allison, a former high school offensive lineman and college swimmer. Sean Allison admits he can't do much more than the basics with his son, but he understands body mechanics well. Jack's throwing motion, footwork and weight distribution have never been a serious concern.
Allison will play his final game as a high school student Saturday at noon at the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando. Five days after taking the field at the Citrus Bowl, the quarterback will be in Coral Gables at the University of Miami, where he is set to early enroll early and participate in spring practice with the Hurricanes.
"It's been fun," Sean Allison said. "We've spent a lot of time together and it's all coming to an end here."
A football family
Jack Allison's first football field in Florida was the streets of Anna Maria Island. For two months at the end of summer in 2004, the Allisons hunkered down in a seasonal rental as Sean transitioned into his new job at the YMCA of Manatee County. Between trips to the beach and afternoons in the backyard pool, Allison and his two older brothers would play makeshift football with a quarterback, cornerback and wide receiver.
They had to aim away from the neighbor's yard -- he was a Navy SEAL and scolded the boys when the ball fluttered toward his house -- and then they'd scurry home, tear off their blackened socks and be ready for more family time.
For two months, Jack, his parents and his five siblings shared a two-bedroom home, which meant the already tight-knit Allison family got even closer.
"In a lot of ways," said Colleen Allison, Jack's mother, "it was like a little vacation."
Every time the Allisons moved -- whether it was from Charlotte to St. Louis or St. Louis to Bradenton -- there was a transition time sort of like this. It was one of the many activities which bonded them. Another was those front-yard football games.
Football has always been a central tenet for the expansive Allison family. Sean played in high school and his two younger brothers went on to play in college. His dad was a college player, too, and his uncle made it to the NFL. Colleen's dad played for the Redskins. Both of Jack's older brothers played in high school and Hank was one of his wide receivers for a year at Palmetto.
Allison's football career began with games in the front or backyard. Even when he was a toddler in Charlotte, he'd sit on the family's deck and fling objects into the backyard where the family dog would track them down. Allison says his dad taught him how to throw a football. He learned how to play the sport in Bradenton when he played Pop Warner Little Scholars for the Manatee Mustangs.
The Mustangs are run by Pat Carnegie, who played quarterback at East Carolina and coached Peter Warrick at the position before Warrick became an All-American wide receiver at Florida State. Allison, however, was a unique project for Carnegie.
Usually, Manatee plants a dual-threat athlete under center and runs some sort of an option offense. Allison gave the Mustangs flexibility. It was a rare occurrence for Manatee: The Mustangs had a pocket-passer and could run a pro-style offense. This past season, Allison was still running a pro-style system for Palmetto High School, where he threw for 1,430 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine games.
"That speaks volumes to how successful he was at it," Carnegie said. "We did have guys that were dual threats that could throw and could run, but he brought that different dimension."
Moment to remember
Jack Allison remembers exactly when he got the call from the Under Armour All-America Game during the summer.
"It was just a dream come true," he said. Now, in the Palmetto auditorium, he'd get his jersey.
To his right were Palmetto head coach Dave Marino and offensive coordinator Seth Varnadore. On his left were Colleen and Sean, and directly next to him was his younger brother, Nate.
Jack tosses on the teal Under Armour jersey as his classmates and the rest of the PHS football family chant, "Jack the Ripper."
He speaks for about a minute to thank pretty much anyone he can think of -- his family, everyone who has coached him, God. As Jack returns to his seat, Nate prods at his side and gives him a hug.
Nate Allison was born on Sept. 5, 2004, with an extra 21st chromosome. He has Down syndrome, a genetic disorder which causes physical growth delays and moderate intellectual disability.
All of the Allison children are close, and especially close with Nate. When Jack leaves the locker room after games, Nate is typically one of the first to greet him, racing toward the door for a hug. Jack has plenty of influences. Maybe none are bigger than Nate.
"He can't do the things I do," Jack said, "so people like me who are blessed with the abilities that I do, I have no excuse not to go far when there are people like him who don't have that opportunity."
Becoming a Cane
Two plays Allison made during his sophomore year convinced Marino he had a special prospect under his care, and when his friend Art Kehoe, the offensive line coach at Miami, invited Marino and his two sons to tour the Hurricanes' new facility the PHS head coach was ready. Marino has coached in Manatee County for 25 years and the relationships he's forged has made Palmetto a destination for Tampa Bay recruiters like Kehoe. After Allison's sophomore season, Marino was ready for his latest pitch.
That season, Allison had been a maestro of improbable comebacks for Palmetto. During one game, the Tigers trailed Bayshore, 38-7, in the second quarter. "You're gonna lead this team back and we're gonna win this damn game," Marino told his sophomore quarterback at halftime. "We're gonna win 42-38."
PHS won 41-38.
Allison works best in gameday chaos. Palmetto was already 0-2 when it traveled to Clearwater for a game against Countryside during Allison's sophomore year. In a 27-0 win -- Allison's first as a starter -- one play stood out. The quarterback slid around blitzers while keeping his eyes down the field. Amid pandemonium, he set his feet and connected for a 40-yard completion.
That pass was the first play Marino showed Kehoe in film. Later that season, Allison made a similar throw against Lakewood Ranch, only this time he took a hit from a linebacker while connecting for a touchdown. Marino showed Kehoe this play next.
Kehoe called Miami offensive coordinator James Coley. Soon, Allison had an offer from his dream school.
Perfect fit
Mark Richt quickly scanned the Allisons' dinner table before picking out a seat for his meal with the family. This was the new Miami head coach's first visit to the Allisons' home in Parrish since he took over as the Hurricanes' 23rd head coach in December.
When Jack was becoming a coveted recruit two years earlier, Colleen remembers her oldest son Sam telling her about Richt. He "would be the perfect coach," Sam told her. Richt is a former quarterback, a devout Christian and a known family man.
Soon after Miami hired Richt, Colleen recalled a story about Richt and his wife Katharyn traveling to Ukraine to adopt a 2-year-old girl from an orphanage in 1999. When they were there, they also adopted a neglected 3-year-old boy. This was the sort of family Colleen wanted her son to be around.
Richt chose his seat at the table next to Nate.
The coach has naturally endeared himself to Jack and his family because he possesses the same familial values they have.
On Jan. 6, Jack will leave his parents and siblings in Manatee County to begin orientation at the University of Miami. In Coral Gables, he will become part of a new family.
"If I had to hand pick a coach for my son it would be Coach Richt," Colleen said. "If I had to hand pick a school it would be Miami, so I am just so thankful."
This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Prep football | One last chance to shine for Palmetto's Miami-bound QB Jack Allison ."