A key ingredient to championship runs is the ability for teams to recruit and develop great players.

From Julio Jones to Derrick Henry, Nick Saban has demonstrated a knack finding highly skilled players in the high school ranks and developing them into elite athletes at the collegiate level.

One of the players that has been a star in Alabama’s journey to Tampa has been senior defensive end Jonathan Allen. Allen leads the Crimson Tide with 9.5 sacks and 15 hurries while recording 62 tackles and two defensive touchdowns.

On Thursday’s edition of The Morning Blitz, Jonathan Allen’s older brother, Richard Allen III, detailed their journey from foster care to today.

While Jonathan Allen has instilled fear in opposing offenses this season, Jonathan and his older brother Richard experienced a tumultuous childhood which included a stint in foster care.

Richard Allen III described how the adversity during their childhood drew them together along with Jonathan’s grit on the playground against players much older than him and the discipline that their father instilled in them.

As Jonathan Allen had assembled a superb senior season on the football field, his older brother offered his assessment of what makes Alabama’s senior All-American defensive end great

“The never give up attitude.” Richard Allen III said.

Catch The Morning Blitz each weekday from 6-7 AM on Tide 102.9/100.9 and the radioPup app.

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