Christopher Allen didn’t play a snap in 2018 because of an ACL injury he suffered before the season. But the outside linebacker used his time on the sideline to learn when he couldn't be on the field.

“It’s been hard,” Allen told BamaOnLine during the College Football Playoff. “But at the same time, I’ve been able to help my team in other ways. I’m able to see a lot more stuff that I could never see, and I’m able to help my teammates on the field and off the field.”

Now a redshirt sophomore, Allen spent Alabama’s 2018 season rehabbing from his knee injury. He was able to practice with the team during the postseason, although on a limited basis, and was even hoping he could play in the Orange Bowl semifinal against Oklahoma. But that didn’t happen, as the 6-foot-4, 242-pound edge rusher cheered on his teammates in the playoff.

Alabama’s Orange Bowl Media Day occurred Dec. 27, and Allen said he was only able to start practicing three days before when the Crimson Tide landed on South Beach for the semifinal.

At the time, he said he was at 60-percent health on a scale of 0-100.

“I’m feeling pretty good, but cutting, it still hurts. It still hurts a bit,” Allen said. “So, there’s still a ways to go, but I feel like I’m ahead of schedule. I had surgery a little over five months ago, and I’m feeling pretty good. I’m not swelling or anything, and it doesn’t hurt really bad.”

With spring practice starting next month for the Tide, Allen will be closer to full health than when we last spoke in Miami Gardens, Fla. But those that closely monitor the recovery process of Alabama’s athletes aren’t rushing to get Allen ready for the A-Day Game on April 13.

Alabama outside linebacker Christopher Allen

“I think with ACLs, nobody’s trying to set records with them at all, and I think to play at a high level, it takes close to a year,” head athletic trainer Jeff Allen told BamaOnLine. “You can certainly be back in less than a year -- plenty of people do that. It happens in the NFL, it happens across all sports. But it really takes a year, I think, for an athlete to feel fully comfortable back from an ACL.”

Last spring, Allen led UA’s defense in production points in its first scrimmage, impressing his older teammates, including fellow linebacker Terrell Lewis who is also coming back from an ACL injury he sustained prior to the 2018 campaign. He’s hoping to return to that form in 2019.

Lewis and rising redshirt senior Anfernee Jennings are likely to start at the Crimson Tide’s Sam and Jack linebacker positions this fall, and the trio will be learning under a new position coach with now-former defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi moving on to the Cleveland Browns.

When healthy in 2017, Allen saw time in seven games as a freshman and totaled tackles, one tackle for loss (-2 yards), one quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. The nation’s No. 4 inside linebacker in the 2017 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite, Allen said he switched to outside linebacker because Lupoi was the position coach and vastly improved.

He will look to continue to do that with Alabama’s new-look staff as he continues his recovery.

“I felt like he could teach me a lot and develop me, which he has,” said Allen of Lupoi at Hard Rock Stadium in December. “Like I’m 1,000 times better than when I came in as a freshman.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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