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On the Nittany Lions: Safety Marcus Allen has strong Pittsburgh ties

When Pittsburgh native Shawn Allen sees his son, Marcus Allen, at Heinz Field it will be a dream come true.

A dream that, at one point in time, seemed completely out of the realm of possibility.

“He was gung-ho about flag football as a little boy, probably 6, 7, so I signed him up for a flag team, and he was excited,” Shawn Allen said. “We get to the first practice, someone throws the ball, and it goes through his hands and hits him in his face.

“So at that point, football was done. It was a grand opening, grand closing.