Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen Is Getting the Last Laugh
Hard work has paid off for quarterback Josh Allen. Hard work on the football field and hard work in the weight room have gotten Allen to where he is today, a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. Allen has the Buffalo Bills at 3-0 and a major force in the AFC. Don’t underestimate Allen’s hard work in the email department, either.
Josh Allen’s NFL career
Although Josh Allen was the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, he was still the third quarterback selected. Baker Mayfield (No. 1) and Sam Darnold (No. 3) were both taken ahead of the guy who has thrown 10 touchdown passes against one interception this season. Allen also has rushed for a pair of touchdowns for the unbeaten Buffalo Bills.
It wasn’t always pretty for Allen in the NFL. He was tabbed as a strong-armed quarterback who had no idea where the ball was going. Accuracy was a big concern. In his first season in the league, Allen started 11 games and posted a 5-6 record. He threw 10 touchdown passes but finished with 12 interceptions.
A year ago, Allen improved on those numbers. He started all 16 games, going 10-6 and leading the Bills into the postseason. Allen threw for 3,089 yards and had 20 touchdown passes while throwing nine interceptions. He also rushed for 510 yards and nine touchdowns.
Allen desperately wanted to play for Fresno State
Coming out of high school, Josh Allen had one goal and that was to play college football at Fresno State. Allen attended the games regularly, tailgating at many of the home games with his siblings and parents. He also attended camps hosted by the Bulldogs, hoping one day he could play quarterback for them.
According to ESPN, one of Allen’s most memorable moments was meeting Derek Carr, then the Fresno State quarterback. Carr is now the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders and the two will meet on the field Sunday when the Bills travel to Las Vegas. Fresno State, like most Division 1 schools, wasn’t interested in having Allen as its quarterback.
With no offers of the table, Allen went to Reedley College, a community college about an hour away from his high school. Allen grew to 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds. His Reedley coach predicted the scholarship offers would pour in, but it never happened.
Allen takes things into his own hands and then gets the last laugh
With no scholarship offers, Allen sent emails to every big-time college in the country. His email contained an attachment with his high school highlights. Again, not much interest. Wyoming coach Craig Bohl was the only FBS coach who made the long trek to meet with Allen. After meeting with Allen and seeing the highlight reels, Bohl decided Allen was Wyoming’s guy.
“He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘We went all around the country and there’s only one quarterback we want and that’s your son. He’s going to be the face of our program,'” Allen’s father Joel said, according to ESPN. Allen went on to become a star with the Cowboys and become a first-round pick in the NFL.
Before he signed on the dotted line with Wyoming, Allen made one last effort to reach out to Fresno State. Fresno State just received a commitment from Chason Virgil, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound quarterback from Texas. When Allen heard the news, he fired off another email to the Bulldogs’ staff, simply writing “6-1, 170?” An assistant coach responded, “Yeah, we got our guy. Good luck.”
