The Florida State Seminoles have turned up the heat in their efforts to land 2027 blue-chip linebacker Mikahi Allen over the last few months. After having him on campus in January for a Junior Day event, Allen returned last week for a spring practice.

Things have progressed in his recruitment to the point that Allen has narrowed his choices down to eight schools. He’s now focused on Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Syracuse, Illinois, Rutgers, and FSU.

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With his standout schools identified, they’ll certainly be factors that separate them in the end. Allen mentioned some of the aspects that will be key in helping him make his decision.

“Scheme, how the coach coaches,” Allen told Brian Dohn of 247Sports. “Are the players understanding what the coach is teaching them? Are the coaches teaching them football? Do I see myself loving that school?”

The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder specifically broke down why teams use linebackers in multiple ways.

“I look at scheme a lot because a lot of places are playing with two linebackers, but they are also putting their linebackers in multiple positions and that is what I am really looking for,” Allen said. “If you want to get to that next level from what I’ve been hearing, you want to go to a college that can show your versatility to the scouts. That’s what I’ve really been looking into.”

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Tony White’s 3-3-5 scheme should certainly be appealing to Allen in that regard. There’s a Jack linebacker role within the scheme that serves as a hybrid edge-linebacker that rushes the passer and also drops into coverage.

Allen had a very good junior campaign at Don Bosco Prep High School. He amassed 58 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three interceptions, two pass breakups, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one blocked punt.

He’s listed as the No. 213 player in the country and the No. 19 linebacker in the 247Sports composite rankings. He’s also the No. 4 prospect in New Jersey.

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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU Football: Mikahi Allen names Florida State a top-eight school