Will Allen (safety)

Will Allen (born June 17, 1982) is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ohio State University, and received All-American honors. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

Early years
Allen was born in Dayton, Ohio. He attended Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio, and played high school football for the Wayne Warriors.

College career
Allen received an athletic scholarship to attend Ohio State University, where he was a four-year letterman for coach Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2000 to 2003. As a senior in 2003, he was a consensus first-team All-America selection. In his first three seasons at Ohio State he played behind three-time All American Mike Doss, seeing action on the field primarily in nickel coverage on passing downs.

Allen is perhaps best remembered among college football fans for two plays made during the 2002 BCS national championship season. The first occurred during the 2002 Ohio State-Michigan game, intercepting a pass from Michigan quarterback John Navarre during the closing seconds to preserve the 14-9 victory and an undefeated regular season. The second play was only one game later in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl for the national championship. In the second half, Allen tackled Miami running back Willis McGahee and delivered a shoulder blow to his left knee. McGahee had to be helped off the field; he suffered ligament damage and was forced to miss his whole rookie year in the NFL.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Allen played in every game in his rookie year on special teams but saw increasing time as a safety in the final weeks of the season. He made his first NFL interception against the Carolina Panthers and his first touchdown in week 6 of the following season against the Miami Dolphins. He started eight games in 2005, playing at both free safety and strong safety due to injuries to Jermaine Phillips and Dexter Jackson.

Allen's most noted contribution in his young NFL career occurred against the Green Bay Packers in 2005, when he intercepted Packers quarterback Brett Favre twice in the fourth quarter. Buccaneers starting safety, Dexter Jackson, had been injured midway through the second quarter with a hamstring strain. Allen came into the game as a substitute. Allen was the Buccaneers' special teams captain in 2008. Allen was the first alternate for NFC Special Teams for the 2009 Pro Bowl. He was resigned to a 1 year $2.35 million contract on February 28, 2009

Pittsburgh Steelers
On March 8, 2010, Allen signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On November 9, 2012, Allen was fined $7,875 for a late hit against New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz in Week 9.