Utah's Brian Allen selected No. 173 to Pittsburgh Steelers in 5th round

SALT LAKE CITY — The onetime receiver turned cornerback Brian Allen was selected No. 173 overall Saturday in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

The former University of Utah corner and Texas native was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s the fifth player and the second defensive player from the U. drafted in 2017.

Allen played four years at Utah after redshirting a season in 2012. He played various roles for the remaining four years while at Utah, but he sustained a season-ending injury midway through his sophomore season in 2014.

Allen developed into a defensive starter his senior year despite never playing the position before, and he was a difficult cornerback to throw against due to his speed and size. He finished his career with five interceptions, four of which came in his senior season, 62 total tackles, 14 passes defended, 4.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.

He credits Utah cornerback coach Sharrieff Shah for helping him with his ability to compete on defense. Speaking at Utah’s Pro Day, Allen said Shah “just stayed on me to make sure my technique was perfect.”

Although relatively new to the defensive side of the ball, Allen was one of eight players from the University of Utah to be invited to the NFL Combine. Allen was a top performer in the three-cone drill with a time of 6.64 seconds and had an official 4.48-second 40-yard dash. He participated in four other drills at the combine.

In several predraft projections, Allen went as high as the third round. Most analysts saw him being selected in the fifth round of the draft.

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