news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Northern Guilford football star Keenan Allen will decide between California and Penn State today on National Signing Day — and not Alabama, to which he committed in November.

Whichever he chooses, Allen is likely to have at least one familiar face alongside him.

Allen, rated the fifth-best player in the nation by Rivals.com, wants to play with his half-brother, former Grimsley star Zach Maynard, who left the University of Buffalo on Jan. 21 after head coach Turner Gill took the top job at Kansas.

The News & Record Player of the Year still had not made his decision as of Tuesday afternoon, but the national champion Crimson Tide could not or would not take Maynard and appeared to be out of contention for Allen.

Allen and Maynard had official visits to Clemson two weekends ago and to Cal last weekend.

Gabe King, a former Page defensive end, committed to Cal during the weekend, the Oakland Tribune reported. King, a close friend of Allen’s, started this school year at Northern but moved to Oregon in September after the N.C. High School Athletic Association declared him ineligible for falsifying residency information while at Page. King will announce his signing in Greensboro today with Allen, Maynard and former Nighthawks James Scales and Chris McCain, who have committed to Oregon.

Allen has accounted for 53 touchdowns this season and played strong safety for the Nighthawks but has said he prefers wide receiver. Rivals analyst Barry Every wrote that “it would be shocking if he didn’t play meaningful time as a true freshman.”

Penn State, which went 11-2 and won the Capital One Bowl over LSU, re-emerged on Allen’s radar almost overnight but not without precedent. Allen visited State College, Pa., where his stepfather is from and where he still has family, last year.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com