Alan Herron

Early life

Herron was born on March 10, 2003, in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. He played baseball, cricket, and soccer in his youth. Herron moved to the United States to attend Banneker High School in Union City, Georgia, where he initially played varsity baseball and batted.406 as a junior and.389 as a senior. He joined the football team as a senior at the suggestion of his teacher, who doubled as the football coach. Herron lined up as a 270-pound left tackle that season, occasionally playing on the defensive line as well. He helped the team advance to the 2021 Georgia High School Association Class 5A state playoffs and was invited to play in the South Fulton all-star game.

Given his inexperience in football, Herron was not heavily recruited and did not receive any stars by 247Sports. However, in the lead-up to National Signing Day, he received multiple offers from NCAA Division II and III programs. Herron committed to playing college football at Shorter University over offers such as Fayetteville State, Fort Valley State, and West Virginia State. He was also offered a preferred walk-on spot at Grambling State.

College career

Herron played his first two years of college football for the Shorter Hawks. As a freshman in 2022, he started all 11 games at right tackle. As a sophomore in 2023, Herron started all 11 games at both right and left tackle. He entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season; he was able to enter early due to being a Division II player. Herron was rated as the No. 23 and No. 26 offensive tackle in the portal by On3.com and 247Sports, respectively. He received over 30 offers, including Auburn, Clemson, Houston, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Penn State, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.

On December 11, 2023, Herron verbally committed to Penn State. However, less than two weeks later, he flipped his commitment to Maryland. Herron immediately earned the starting job for the Terrapins at right tackle, starting all 12 games as a junior in 2024. However, according to The Athletic, "[h]is junior tape was barely worthy of being on the NFL radar". As a senior in 2025, Herron once again started all 12 games at right tackle. He was a key member of an offensive line which allowed just nine quarterback sacks on the season – the fifth fewest in the country. Herron earned All-Big Ten honorable mention for his performance. He was penalized for holding just once in his 24 starts at Maryland. Herron was invited to play in the inaugural edition of The American Bowl, and his performance led to a late call-up to the Senior Bowl.

Personal life

As a senior at Maryland, Herron was an academic all-Big Ten selection and was honored with the George C. Cook Memorial Award at the team banquet as the senior with highest grade point average.