By John P. Lopez

The Houston Cougars are, “probably the leader,” to land former Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen, who has returned to his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. to decide where he will transfer, a source told Sports Radio 610.

After Allen met with head coach Tom Herman and at least one other Cougars coach in Houston on Sunday, he came away impressed. Specifically, Herman’s offensive approach and the Coogs’ success landing a commitment from four-star Spring Westfield wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland impressed Allen.

Allen got to know Cleveland during his recruitment by the Aggies, who were one of the Westfield star’s finalists. Another program that pursued Cleveland was Arizona State, which also is in the mix for Allen’s transfer.

As it stands now, Allen is considering between four and six programs as a transfer, with Houston, Arizona, Arizona State and Oklahoma among them. The Cougars coaches’ worry, however, is that while they made much headway with Allen, now that he is home in Arizona the talented quarterback could be swayed by his home-state schools and alumni.

Interestingly, Allen also has had telephone conversations with coaches at Stephen F. Austin University, although joining the Lumberjacks is considered an extreme long-shot at this point. The lure of transferring to SFA, an FCS school, is Allen would not have to sit out a year, as he would by rule if he transfers to an FBS school. Thus, Allen could make himself available for the 2017 NFL Draft.