EUGENE, Ore. -- Ducks wide receiver Devon Allen announced Wednesday that he will forgo his final year of NCAA football eligibility to focus solely on professional track.
Allen had previously announced that he would forgo NCAA track eligibility. He said Wednesday that a return to football isn't out of the question, but he likely wouldn't seriously consider any NFL options until after the 2020 Tokyo Games.
"My scenario is to run track for the next couple years and then in 2020 Olympics win a gold medal and have the world record," said Allen, who competed in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2016 Rio Games. "And then put that to the side and try to play football. I think that's the ideal scenario."
Allen is recovering from a torn left ACL suffered in the Ducks' third game this season, a loss to Nebraska. He previously tore his right ACL in Oregon's 2014 Rose Bowl win over Florida State.
After the first ACL tear, many assumed Allen would not return to the football field. He was the reigning 2014 USA Track & Field 110-meter hurdle champion, and the injury put his future track career in jeopardy. But he returned -- after redshirting the 2014-15 NCAA track season and the 2015 football season -- to train for the Olympics.
Allen won the United States Olympic Trials last year before finishing fifth in Rio. He said the second ACL tear didn't necessarily push him further toward the idea of focusing on track because it had been in the back of his mind anyway.
Allen plans to stay in Eugene, Oregon, to train with college coach Jamie Cook and to graduate by this summer. He also plans to compete at the USATF Championships on June 22-25 in Sacramento, California.