Wyoming QB puts NFL future on hold

LAS VEGAS >> As the son of a Central California farmer, Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen understood the ripening process.

After a breakout 2016 season, Allen decided he was not ready to apply for the 2017 NFL Draft.

So Allen returned to Wyoming for his junior season as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Many scouts view Allen as a potential high first-round pick if he chooses to enter the 2018 draft. Allen represented Wyoming at the Mountain West Conference’s Media Summit on Wednesday. He was named the league’s preseason offensive player of the year.

“I think it’s very premature,” Allen said of the draft projections. “A lot of people like to talk about it because they want to be the first ones to say it. But I’ve got 14 games to play this year. I’m looking forward to this year, and I’m focused on Wyoming football.”

Allen is a cocktail of size (6 feet 51⁄4 and 231 pounds), strength (he can reach every point of the passing tree), and credentials (3,203 yards passing and 523 yards rushing in 2016). He also has a chip on his shoulder pads.

“Josh’s last pass was an interception against BYU (in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl),” Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. “He couldn’t get that out of his mind. He was looking at: How do I want to leave my legacy at the University of Wyoming? Do I want to leave it on the turf in San Diego when I threw a pick to end the game or do I kind of want to right the ship?”

It was a dilemma Allen did not envision when he received no scholarship offers, not even from nearby Fresno State, as a Firebaugh (Calif.) High senior. He enrolled at Reedley Collge in 2014. At the time, Bohl said, “We were looking for a pro-style quarterback. We put out a pretty wide net.”

Assistant coach David Brown, who had coached at Fresno State the previous year, recommended Allen. The Cowboys constructed a list of 10 quarterback prospects. “He was a guy we wanted,” Bohl said.

Bohl likened Allen to another quarterback he coached, Carson Wentz, the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2016 first-round pick. “What really sold me, beyond a big trajectory of physical skills, was what type of person he was,” Bohl said. “The first time I met him I went over to his home. I met his parents. You could see the competitive nature and also how grounded they were.”

Allen said: “They flew me out (for a recruiting trip), offered me (a scholarship), and within a week I was signed.”

Allen made his first start in the second game of the 2015 season as Cameron Coffman’s injury replacement. Thirteen plays later, Allen was injured, suffering a broken right clavicle. He received a medical hardship that year and then excelled last year.

Because Allen was three years out of high school, he qualified for the 2017 NFL Draft. As part of the league’s draft assessment, he was invited to observe February’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He also spoke with Wentz, who earned a bachelor’s degree at North Dakota State. Wentz shared his experience of being in a huddle with NFL veterans.

“I took everything (Wentz) said into account,” Allen said. “He was really good to me with his information.”

In choosing to remain in school, Allen said, “I decided quarterbacks who only play 14 games in college don’t really pan out in the NFL. I didn’t want to test those waters and try to be an anomaly in those situations. Coming back, I would have another year of seeing defenses and talking with coaches and learning more of the game, so when I do make that transition, it will be as seamless as possible.”

Allen said he and his family are considering obtaining an insurance policy that would protect against an injury that would hinder his draft stock. He also has another option. “Technically, I have another year (at Wyoming) after this (season), so who knows,” he said.