UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Braelon Allen was looking forward to "coming of age" for the express purpose of expression. Self-expression. By Wisconsin law, he had to wait until he was 18. Since he had no interest in traveling out of state to expedite the timeline, he waited. Allen waited patiently to get a tattoo.
"It was something I always wanted to do," he said. "It's meaningful."
How so? "I see tattoos as kind of telling a story about yourself," he replied softly.
Allen turned 18 in January. He got his first tat in the spring. The message on his left arm was self-explanatory: "Stay Humble, Hustle Hard." He later honored his mom, Kimberly, with a tattoo on his chest. Near and dear to his heart. His longest sitting was four-plus hours for a hybrid design on his forearm.
"Whoever says they don't hurt," he said, grimacing, "they're lying. They all hurt."
So why go to the trouble? Why put ink on your body? Why use it as a canvas for tattoos? "Like I said, it tells a story about you and how you perceive things," Allen reasoned. "A lot of these things are things that I find important. There are some other visionary things. Kind of the way I explain myself."
An eye tattoo adorns his outer arm and reflects the focus and clarity of a visionary, the accompanying sentiment/statement. "The future," Allen said, "has always been my motivation – from how I grew up to kind of having a goal that I wanted to achieve all my life and working towards that."
At Wisconsin Football's Media Day in early August, Allen revealed his new tats and how he was dedicating the season to the memory of former UW running backs coach, Gary Brown, who passed away in April. Brown was 52. To honor his mentor, Allen has Brown's initials tattooed on his inner bicep.
"When I first got here, he hadn't been here for long, he was just here for the spring (of 2021), so we were both kind of new," Allen recounted. "But it seemed like he was everybody's spark for energy. He just brought the same energy and mentality to every practice and every workout.
"He was the guy everyone looked to when we needed juice. Everyone respected him. To me, it was a lot deeper than football. He taught me a lot of life lessons. Obviously, those are personal. But he cared for us a lot. And throughout the season, we had grown pretty close.
"Without him, I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in. All of my success is credited to him. He built me up from the ground. I got here in the summer and really had never played running back since middle school. I was thrown into the fire. But I trusted him. Whatever he told me I needed to do, I did."
As it was, Brown took ill and did not coach in the Las Vegas Bowl. "After the bowl game, I talked to him," Allen said. "And he just kept talking about this winter and this spring and how 'We're going to get you right … you'll be catching passes and you'll be great in pass protection … all these things."'
It was the last time they spoke. "It was just hard not being able to say good-bye," Allen said.
Al Johnson took over as the running backs coach in March. A three-year starter on the Wisconsin offensive line (2000-2002) – a third-team All-American center and Rimington Trophy finalist as a senior – he was aware of the emotional backdrop, the relationship between Brown and Allen and all the RBs.
"We have talked, not so much about my part in that, but he (Allen) has brought it up and we talked about it in our (meeting) room," Johnson said. "For me, it's a little bit of pressure because you don't want to screw that up.
"What they loved about Gary was that he was a great person and man and then a great coach. I'm trying to live up to that and help them reach their dreams. More importantly, I know somewhere he's smiling because he has left a great dent on those guy's lives. They'll never forget that man."
Johnson redshirted in 1999, Ron Dayne's Heisman season. But he blocked for speedster Michael Bennett and Anthony Davis, the fifth-leading rusher in school history. Bennett and Allen were smaller than Allen. Less powerful. Johnson refrained from coming up with a comp for Allen. Or any of his backs.
"I don't want them to believe that they have to be somebody other than themselves," said Johnson, who elaborated on Allen's assets and what sets him apart from others. "He's such a unique talent. He has speed. He has explosiveness. He has change of direction. But he also has size."
Johnson, 43, can relate to Allen's body art. He got his first tat as a senior at Southern Door High School. "I got a 'W' – it was during track season right before graduation and I knew I was coming to be a Badger," said Johnson who has tattoos on both arms. "It's a personal decision for everybody."
But it comes with a commitment, he was quick to say. "I wear sleeves most of the time to cover them up," he admitted. "I tell people when they ask, 'Make sure it's something you want for a long time, make sure it means something, and it's still going to mean something to you in 20 or 30 years."'
Allen twice mentioned how much it all means to him now. How tattoos help tell his story. In this context, he was told that he has seemingly just begun to write his. There are so many chapters left. "So many," he agreed. "That's why only three-quarters of the arm is gone. There's a lot to tell."
***
Johnson has been around Allen for a little over five months. Time enough to learn about him.
"From day one until now, you can learn a lot," Johnson said. "He wants to be great. He has been willing to do whatever it takes to be his best and help this team – to fix the things that needed to be fixed and that he wanted to fix. He's a humble person and a good leader in his own way.
"He has what you want in a player. He works. He's willing to do whatever you ask him to do. But he's also willing to tell you how he's seeing things so you can better understand what he's thinking on a certain play. I absolutely appreciate that. The best teams I've been around, we've been in this together."
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst brought up Allen's learning curve. What he did in 2021 was historic. After getting just 12 carries for 49 yards in the first four games, he rushed for 1,219 (135.4 ypg.) over the last nine, including eight times over 100. As a true frosh, he was a quick study, the foundation for 2022.
"This year he knew what he was preparing for having gone through it," said Chryst. "I thought he always had confidence in himself. But now I feel you see a guy who's got more confidence because of knowledge, probably of the position. A guy who wants to keep learning.
"Some of the things that maybe he understood, now he understands it at a deeper level.
"It was, 'I think I've got that' to where 'I know I've got that.'
"And yet there's going to continue to be some learning for him. There always is."
Allen had more snaps (24) on special teams than he did at tailback (21) in his first three appearances combined (Penn State, Eastern Michigan and Michigan). He didn't suit up for Notre Dame. He may have still been confident. But he needed to put it on film to best learn from the experience.
Monday, Allen fielded questions on the source of his confidence going into the 2022 opener.
"I would definitely say it comes from the work that you put in," he said. "Right now, I'm really confident going into this week. Obviously with the work that was put in over the winter and the spring and just knowing I did everything in my power to make myself better and hold myself accountable.
"That's where the confidence comes from. You have to have it to succeed."
There has been no bigger endorser of such thinking, and the application, than Chryst. "I've really been impressed with his purposefulness and preparation," he said. "He's got a clear vision of who he wants to be. He has a clear understanding of who he is now. And he's not afraid to work."
Working with kids is one of his favorite things. In late June, he was in his element at teammate Chimere Dike's football camp. "I was having the time of my life," Allen said. "I love kids. I'm probably the most child-like person on our team. When I'm around kids, it kind of brings the real me out."
Allen welcomes the opportunity to be a role model for young people. Or rather younger people.
"That's what I try to be and not just as a football player," he said. "I try to make sure I'm seen in the right light when I'm out in public. If someone asks to take a picture or asks me to sign something, I'm always willing to do so. I try to carry myself in a way that is respectable off the field.
"Obviously, kids love Braelon Allen, the football player. But I try to be Braelon Allen, the guy."
It's something that he has carried with him to Madison from his upbringing in Fond du Lac.
"You can be a great athlete, but none of that matters if you're not a good person," he said of his family's influence on his growth and how he handles his business today. "Off the field, I try to take extra time out of my day to make somebody's day. That's kind of how I see being a good person."
Most see Allen as one of the top tailbacks in college football. He won't sneak up on anybody. Former UW linebacker Chris Orr has returned to campus after his USFL stint with the New Jersey Generals. It was Orr who kidded Allen about his new-found status and how foes will gameplan for him.
"Those guys in their meetings are circling number 0, stop this guy," Orr told Allen, who wears 0. "It motivates me even more that these guys are coming here trying to stop me," said Allen, who has heard similar things from Jonathan Taylor. "When they get off that bus, they're thinking about you."
Fine by him. "You just play your game," he emphasized.
Expanding his game as a receiver is one of the ways that Allen can become a more complete running back. It was something that Brown discussed with him in their last phone conversation. Before and after practices during training camp, he has worked on running routes and tracking the ball.
New offensive coordinator Bobby Engram has been instrumental here as a teacher.
Informed that he looked comfortable catching passes, Allen said, "More comfortable. I would just say it's not something that I had to do a whole lot. Obviously last year I didn't do much of it at all (8 catches, 6 the last two games). It's a lot more difficult than people think. Chim makes it looks easy."
Allen has spent extra workout time getting up to speed on the nuances of the passing game with Dike, UW's leading returning receiver. "I've run routes with him before – but on air it's a lot easier," Allen said. "In a game situation, that's where my mind kind of starts to overthink a little bit."
Off the field, Allen and Dike have partnered on some NIL opportunities. "We have the same marketing agency," Allen said. "Whatever one of us has going on, the other is pretty much right there. We have a tight friendship, and it just helps us so much more on the field."
The other day, the Badgers held a developmental scrimmage at the end of practice. The "Devo Group" was comprised largely of freshmen, most of whom won't see game action this season. A few will be on special teams. Allen can certainly relate. A year ago, he was in that group at the start of camp.
"I was down there the first two or three days and that was actually the roughest part of my experience my first year," he said. "At first, I was with Devo … balling out. Then they brought me up with the older guys and I wasn't getting any reps, so I was kind of stuck."
"I wanted to be with Devo because I wanted to get reps.
"But I felt like I'm good enough to be up here. But I'm not getting any reps."
It would eventually resolve itself.
"That was a tough time," he said upon reflection. "Oh, my gosh, that was forever ago."
It may feel that way for Allen. He has since come of age – 18 – with new horizons and benefits.
And a story to tell.
"story" - Google News
September 02, 2022 at 07:08PM
https://ift.tt/CP8TJBL
Lucas: Allen just starting to write his own story - University of Wisconsin Badgers
"story" - Google News
https://ift.tt/ZFJc2S4
https://ift.tt/GPC4Om5
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Lucas: Allen just starting to write his own story - University of Wisconsin Badgers"
Post a Comment