Photo by Jeff Houchin
No one could have imagined just how Josh Allen would have changed the image of Kentucky football when he signed with the Wildcats four years ago.
He only got a UK scholarship offer because another player bailed out on his commitment close to signing day. Kentucky heard about an undersized defensive lineman in New Jersey and luckily went to recruit him. Give coach Mark Stoops and his staff credit for quickly recognizing that Allen might be a diamond in the rough and not only getting him to campus, but got him to commit.
Now he’ll play his final UK game in the Citrus Bowl Jan. 1 in Orlando against Penn State and will have helped UK reach three straight bowl games, put together three straight winning seasons and have its first 10-win season since 1977 if the Cats beat Penn State.
Allen not only was a consensus All-American linebacker this year, but he was the consensus national defensive player of the year. Don’t underestimate what that has meant to UK football already in recruiting.
“It means a great deal to have that exposure,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “To win the awards that he is winning, it helps you. That exposure helps you. It helps the program. More than that, personally, it’s so gratifying to share that with him and to see what he’s gone through.
“To do that is truly something you don’t take for granted, I don’t. It’s very special. It’s fun to be a part of it. He’s been very gracious and very humble and handled himself very well.”
Recent Kentucky signee J.J. Weaver of Louisville talked to Allen before he committed to Kentucky. He now says he’s a stronger version of Allen coming to UK and hopes to find a way to help fill the void left by Allen’s departure to the NFL.
Offensive lineman Dagen Rash of Belfry turned down scholarship offers from the military academics to walk on at Kentucky next year.
“I am just a two-star (recruit) and have not been that highly publicized,” Rash said. “Josh Allen motivates me a lot. He proves that (recruiting) stars don’t mean a lot. I feel I am better than a lot of three star and four star players just like he did. My film speaks for itself and I want to get there and prove to people that I can play just like Josh did. He inspires a lot of players.”
Stoops remembers seeing Allen’s film for the first time and immediately sending coaches to New Jersey to see him.
“Once he got on campus, we did know right away that he was a player. You don’t know how fast that’s going to come, and I didn’t know he would be up for all these national awards and first team All-American and all that, but we knew we had a player early,” Stoops said.
“We didn’t care who was recruiting him. We did that a lot and we still do. We’re the first to offer a lot of kids and we trust our own judgment. We’re not always right, but we do our homework. We evaluate and if we like someone, we pull the trigger.”
Pulling that trigger immediately with Allen is one of the best moves Stoops has made at Kentucky. Maybe that helped figure into Allen’s decision to play in the bowl game rather than not play and possibly avoid an injury that could jeopardize what should be a lucrative NFL career for him.
“I think it just sets a good example (playing in the bowl),” Stoops said. “I was just talking to a couple pro scouts and they’re using him as a reference to other juniors across the country. I don’t want to put a dollar figure on it but absolutely significant the difference between coming out a year ago and coming out now. He’s a great example for a lot of players.
“Also, with the way he, once he decided, he never looked back. Once he decided to do that, it wasn’t any doubt, it wasn’t any ifs or buts. He went to work and went through his process of getting himself ready to play and preparing himself for the season and for each game.
“I think that’s why he is represented with some of the greatest players in college football this year because they go about things the right way. Their minds and their hearts are in the right places. He’s just a great example for a lot of people.”
So is he the best player ever to play at Kentucky? The best I had seen was Art Still, a defensive end and anchor on UK’s 1977 team that went 10-1.
“Having watched UK football for a a long time now I have never seen a player dominate his side of the line of scrimmage since Art Still,” former Wildcat Dave Hopewell, Still’s teammate in 1977, said. “Josh has certainly and deserving gotten more awards than any player I have seen.
“He has been a true joy to watch. It made going to games and watching games even more fun to anticipate what you would see Josh do and see how offensive players would try to make adjustments to handle him.
“I never saw Babe (Parilli) or Lou (Groza) play but to have a player make All-American selections two years in a row like they did has got to be a true joy to watch. So even never having watched them they would get my nod simply for that reason.
“It’s just really tough to do it two years in a row. Opposing teams and players can make to many adjustments. Having played with Art Still and seen lots of video on him in the past I knew how dominant Art was. Josh is certainly on Art’s level so I may have a four-way tie for the best player ever at Kentucky.”
My guess is that Josh Allen would be thrilled to be part of that four-way tie.
