One did. A representative came calling from Idaho State University, an NCAA Division I-AA school from the Big Sky Conference. Cattolico wasn't impressed.

The Los Gatos coach knew that his big, fast linebacker could do better ... the Pac-10, maybe the Big 10. But Jared Allen didn't seem to care. Someone had cared enough to offer him a full scholarship to play football, and he was going to take it.

Four years later, Idaho State was still bragging about its coup, and the coaches of the Pac-10 were asking their scouts, "How did we miss a player like that right in our own backyard."

All Jared Allen did for the Bengals was become a two-time All-American, lead the Bengals to a Big Sky Conference championship, lead the nation in quarterback sacks as a senior, and win the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award that's presented annually to the nation's top defensive player in Division I-AA. Then he capped it all by claiming a position on the West team for the East-West Shrine Game.

Next stop: the National Football League.

"It's a shame that some of those Division I schools passed him by," says Cattolico. "Half of the Pac-10 teams have told me, 'We really missed the boat on that kid.' "

Cattolico knew it all along.

"Idaho State was the only place that offered him a full scholarship," adds Cattolico. "I told him he could wait, but he said he thought he'd enjoy playing there."

So Allen accepted the offer, and he has no regrets.

"When I first got there, it was rough to adjust from California to Idaho," he admits. "But I'm really glad I went to Idaho State. I had a great experience there."

There, and beyond.

The 21-year-old Allen played well enough for the Bengals to win the nation's top defensive award, earn a place in the East-West game and catch the eye of the NFL scouts.

NFL bound

Make no mistake about it, Jared Allen is an NFL prospect. He makes no prediction as to the round it will occur, but he fully expects to be selected in the pro football draft in April. Cattolico agrees, largely because of an extra dimension Allen brings to his game.

"He's got the right attitude, he's got the physical skills and he's got the hook—the ability as a long snapper," says Cattolico of the 6-foot-6, 275-pound defensive end. "That's a big part of it. Teams will take someone just as a long snapper. But what they have here is a guy with size and speed who can play a little bit."

Allen's confident that he can take it to the next level.

"All the scouts say that I'm the best [long snapper] they've ever seen," says Allen, who will take part in a special NFL combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 20. Coaches, general managers and owners will be on hand to watch as prospective pros are put through their paces.

"They work us in the 40, the bench, the shuttle and in position drills," says Allen. "They put us through so many psychological tests—a whole bunch of stuff."

After the combine, Allen will continue training as he looks ahead to the April draft.

"He's going to get to the pros as a long snapper for sure," adds Cattolico. "But he's big and fast enough to give any team some time at defensive end. I think he's a can't miss."

"I'm definitely excited about it," says Allen of the upcoming draft. As to the team he would prefer to play for? "Any team in California would be nice, but I don't really care," he admits. "It's all kind of exciting."

And exciting is a great way to describe Allen's outstanding collegiate career.

College honors

Allen's numbers at Idaho State speak for themselves: 250 career tackles, 73 of them for losses, and 38.5 quarterback sacks ... all of that after 102 tackles, 28 for losses, and 17.5 sacks as a senior.

It was certainly enough to catch the eye of the committee that selects candidates for the Buck Buchanan Award.

The award, presented since 1995, is named for the late Buck Buchanan, a two-way starter for Grambling who went on to become an All-Pro with the Kansas City Chiefs and earned a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Among previous winners are Dexter Coakley, an All-Pro linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys; Ed Hartwell, a starting linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens; and Rashean Mathis, a starting defensive back for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Now add Jared Allen's name to that impressive list.

"That was awesome," says Allen of the Buchanan award, which he received during a ceremony held in Chattanooga, Tenn. "It was nice to win the national defensive player award. It's the greatest accomplishment in football that I could ask for. I couldn't ask to end my college career any better than that."

But, then, his college career wasn't quite over. Allen was selected to play for the West team and legendary coach John Robinson in the annual East-West Shrine Game played Jan. 10 at Pac Bell Park.

"I got my invitation to play the summer before [his senior season]," says Allen. "I always dreamed of playing in the East-West game, the Hula Bowl or the Senior Bowl as a college athlete. The whole experience was so neat ... going to the hospital, then playing in the game."

"The best of the best were right there," he adds. "I had a great week of practice. I did everything I wanted to do."

And his former high school coach was there to watch him play.

"He stepped up against the big tackle from Michigan," recalls Cattolico. "It was quite a battle.

"And against some of the other guys, he looked really good. Two or three times he hit the quarterback just as he released the ball."

Allen a champion

Football championships follow Jared Allen like New Year's Day bowl games follow Christmas. It happened at Los Gatos, then it happened again at Idaho State.

Los Gatos already had a successful football program when he arrived on the scene in the summer of 1999. In fact, that was one of the reasons he wanted to become a Wildcat.

"I had a great head coach at Live Oak," says Allen, who transferred from the Morgan Hill school to Los Gatos for his senior year. "Both schools had great summer programs and were very similar in coaching strategies. Los Gatos had a successful program, and I was striving to be successful."

Butch Cattolico was in the weight room on a hot morning in the summer of 1999 when he looked up to see a hulking figure step through the doorway.

"He showed up the first week of summer conditioning and said he was coming to Los Gatos," says Cattolico. "I thought someone was pulling my leg."

It was no joke. And if Cattolico was laughing at all, it was because he was giddy with delight.

"He was a big boy," recalls Cattolico. "He said he wanted to be an outside linebacker and a tight end. But we already had Ben Winkelman there, and Ben was a pretty good player. So I told him that we could really use another lineman. But he said, 'No coach, I don't want to be a lineman.' "

Cattolico already had some pretty big guys on that 1999 club—Ryan O'Gorman, Mike Belsheim and Winkelman, just to name a few. And he had a pretty talented yet still untested sophomore quarterback in Trent Edwards. So the coach was anticipating a pretty good season. But that day when Allen walked into the weight room, everything clicked up a notch.

"When we put on the pads that first week, that's when we really saw what a player he was," says Cattolico. "He was one of the most aggressive kids we'd had in a long time. He picked up the whole level of practice. Players couldn't go half speed, because Jared was always going full speed."

"That was a real physical group of kids, and Jared took to that," Cattolico says. "Our run started with that group of kids."

Allen helped the Wildcats to a 10-0 finish in the regular season and into the Central Coast Section semifinals. But his influence carried over long after that 1999 season. Cattolico credits Allen's impact on the younger players as a big reason for the three CCS championship seasons that followed that '99 campaign.

He had a similar impact at Idaho State.

The program was somewhat stagnant when Allen joined the Bengals in the summer of 2000. He came storming onto the scene that year, figuring to redshirt as a freshman. But he was such an explosive player, the Bengals couldn't afford to keep him on the sidelines.

"I got to play as a true freshman," says Allen. Two years later, the Bengals won the Big Sky Conference championship.

"It was nice to go there and have an impact on changes in that program," adds Allen, a three-time all-conference player.

The long-term influence of his time there is yet to be seen.

All in the family

It was a family influence that first sparked Allen's interest in the game. His father, Ron, played two seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, and his brother, Brian, preceded him in the collegiate ranks at North Dakota.

"I remember watching my older brother play Pop Warner and knowing that I wanted to play football," he recalls. "My dad played, my whole family played. It's just been in our family."

But Allen wanted more than to just play ... he wanted to succeed.

"I always said that I'd get a full-ride scholarship, and I always said that I'd play in the NFL," he says. "It's been a lifelong dream of mine. Now it's at my fingertips."

Buck Buchanan must be smiling.