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Maroon Madness Sweet 16: No. 2 Jake Plummer vs. No. 3 Eric Allen

Two former ASU second-round draft picks

Truedevils.com/talkoffamenetwork.com

The Matchup:

Before moving onto the Sweet 16 round of Maroon Madness, quarterback Jake Plummer avoided any potential upset from Sun Devil baseball star Eric Sogard with a 92 percent of the vote victory. Maroon and gold defensive back Eric Allen didn’t crush his first round opponent in PGA star Paul Casey by the amount Plummer did, but won by a convincing 77 to 23 percent outcome. These two players each appeared in a Rose Bowl game for the Sun Devils on different sides of the gridiron.

Career-defining moment:

In his final year as a Sun Devil in 1996, Plummer helped guide Arizona State to an undefeated regular season before falling to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Plummer earned Pac-10 Player of the Year and First-Team All-American that season. The career-defining game came against top-ranked Nebraska on Sept. 21 when Plummer threw for nearly 300 yards, helping the Sun Devils beat the Cornhuskers 19-0. Plummer’s career-year helped him become a second round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 1997 NFL Draft.

Allen’s top moments in his playing career came as a pro with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Sun Devil defensive back picked off eight balls in his two-year career in the NFL with the Eagles, putting him second amongst the league leaders. The ballhawking Allen’s performance in 1989 got him his first and only All-Pro status. He finished his Eagles’ career with 34 interceptions, which got him inducted into the team Hall of Fame in 2011.

Where are they now?

“The Snake,” Jake Plummer goes back to his hometown of Boise, Idaho to Bishop Kelly high school. There he hosts his Plummer Challenge Camp, where he encourages kids to play different, more creative sports, including wall ball and badminton.

Eric Allen can still be found his a connection to the Pac-12. On the conference’s TV network, Allen can be found doing football pregame and postgame shows, as well as the network’s “Sports Report.”

Resumes:

Jake Plummer

Career Stats

ASU Career
ASU Career
64 Passing Touchdowns
1996 Pac-10 Champion
2x First-Team All-Pac-10 (1995, 1996)
1996 Pac-10 Player of the Year
1996 First-Team All-American
NFL Career
10 Seasons
161 Passing Touchdowns
29,253 Passing Yards

Eric Allen

Career Stats

ASU Career
ASU Career
46 career games
16 total interceptions
2 pick-sixes
1986 Honorable Mention All-Pac-10
1987 First Team All-Pac-10
1987 AP Honorable Mention All-American
NFL Career
14 seasons
54 interceptions
732 tackles
8 pick-sixes
1988 NFL All-Rookie Team
6-time Pro Bowler
1989 First Team All-Pro
Career Stats