It's payday for Allen

Finally, it's time. Let the draft-day jitters commence.

Tennessee's defensive back and a few of his Vol friends will find out what the future holds with the 2006 NFL draft being held today and Sunday in New York.

Payday has arrived.

Little did Allen know it would be such a rough journey.

He could have decided to test NFL waters after his junior season. He came close, but chose instead to return to UT and make a switch from safety to cornerback.

Everything was going great until an ugly collision Oct. 8 with Georgia tight end Leonard Pope left Allen on the ground with a dislocated hip.

Months of rehabilitation later, Allen could be the first Tennessee player taken in the first round since the trio of John Henderson, Albert Haynesworth and Donte Stallworth in 2002.

For a program of UT's stature, that's a drought Allen is ready to end.

"I knew I was going to come back better than ever," he said after his pro-day appearance at UT on March 15. "I think going down to Mobile for the Senior Bowl was my pre-coming out party, showing everybody I was back.

"A lot of teams thought I was still on crutches at that time."

Then came the NFL Combine during the last week of February.

Allen scorched the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.39 seconds.

"Hard work is just a part of me," Allen said of his daily six- to eight-hour rehab ritual. "It's just like I was trying to earn a starting position."

The native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., refused to look at his hip injury as a senior-season disaster. Instead, he called it a "blessing in disguise."

"It was just a process to test my faith," he said. "I just want to work hard, keep my faith, and God will do the rest."

Allen has been projected anywhere from a mid-first round to early third-round selection today.

Draft analyst Tony Pauline of Scout.com said there's a reason for the wide-ranging opinions.

"Some (NFL teams) say the hip injury is OK," Pauline said. "Some of them have looked at the medical reports and the MRIs, and they're saying, 'You know what, three or four years down the line, this could be a problem.'

"They think the injury could turn into a degenerative type of condition. Others aren't that concerned with it.

"I tend to think guys like that will slip, but I do like Jason Allen."

Pauline still thinks Allen is destined to hear his name called in the first round.

Tennessee defensive backs coach Larry Slade considers it a no-brainer.

"From a standpoint of a total package, you're always looking for that guy," Slade said. "Jason is one of the few I've had who is in that category.

"He's just a quality young man - from a character standpoint, from an athletic standpoint, he's just outstanding."

Any NFL teams doubting Allen's will to succeed and ability to bounce back from the injury need to rethink, according to Slade.

"Look at what (former Vol) Deon Grant has done, and Jason's (injury) wasn't nearly as severe," he said. "I'll tell you, those (NFL) guys can talk themselves out of some things.

"They do a great job researching, but that guy is an overachiever. He will do an outstanding job wherever he goes. If somebody doesn't take him, I think they'll regret it later."

Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated has Allen going to the Miami Dolphins with the No. 16 overall pick.

"No one I talked to on the Dolphins mentioned him, but everyone seems to be asking where he'll go, the sure tip-off that a guy is hot, that he's on the rise," Zimmerman said in his SI.com mock draft.

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper has Allen going to Dallas with the No. 18 pick.

The Vols have had 36 first-round picks head off to the NFL. Allen wants to be No. 37.

Defensive end Parys Haralson and defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona are two other former Vols who could hear their names called today.

"It's nerve-racking because it's your life," Haralson said after his pro-day workout. "It's tough not knowing where you're going to play or where you're going to be."

The one common theme is they all want to be somewhere.

The first three rounds of the draft are today. Rounds 4-7 are Sunday.

Other Vols hoping to be picked include Omar Gaither, Kevin Simon, Rob Smith, Gerald Riggs, Cody Douglas, Albert Toeaina, Chris Hannon, C.J. Fayton, Jason Hall, Tony McDaniel and Jason Mitchell.

Some draft analysts have said as many as eight to 10 UT players could be selected.