Zach Allen de-commits from Northwestern, commits to Boston College

Zach Allen, a class of 2015 defensive end who had verbally committed to Northwestern, has de-comitted and committed to Boston College, according to a report from Luke Srodulski of Wildcat Digest.

2015 DE Zach Allen has de-committed from Northwestern and committed to Boston College.

— Luke Srodulski (@lsrodulski) January 31, 2015

Allen, who committed to NU back on April 15, is a three-star defensive who had offers from UCLA, Virginia, Syracuse, Northwestern and Boston College, among others. He is from New Canaan, Conn., meaning location may have played a part in his decision.

Interestingly, Allen's high school coach, Lou Marinelli, had been all but sure Allen would go to BC. "I basically told (the Boston College) coaches that I'd be very surprised if he didn't go there," Marinelli told Dave Ruden of therudenreport.com. So it was somewhat of a surprise that Allen picked NU in the first place.

With National Signing Day just four days away, Allen's decommitment will leave Pat Fitzgerald scrambling. It remains to be seen whether or not Northwestern's staff will move to find a replacement, or stick with a 19-man class. The class also includes two other defensive ends, Trent Goens and Joe Gaziano.

Allen isn't the first player, nor will he be the last, to de-commit from Northwestern. Last year, linebacker Hamilton Anoa'i flipped his commitment from NU to Cal on the night before Signing Day. Earlier in this recruiting cycle, four-star twins Andrew and David Dowell also de-committed.

Pat Fitzgerald has a strict policy when it comes to commits checking out other schools. It's unclear whether that had anything to do with Allen's decision.