Dreaming Big

September 5, 2017
football player throwing ball
Josh Allen prepares for a pass during the October 2016 game against Air Force, which the Cowboys won 35-26.

Quarterback Josh Allen takes on his junior season with the Cowboys, sights set on the NFL.

By Micaela Myers

In May, CBS Sports published a feature titled “NFL scouts are already salivating over the Wyoming QB who could go No. 1 in 2018,” followed by a feature in Sports Illustrated called “No One to No. 1.” The University of Wyoming hasn’t seen national attention like this in a long time, and it’s all thanks to junior quarterback Josh Allen, who took second-team All-Mountain West honors last year, leading the Pokes to the Mountain West division title and on to play in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

He received so much NFL attention, he even considered declaring for the 2017 draft. “It was a very big decision for me and my family—a lot of sleepless nights,” he recalls. Ultimately, he decided to stay on with the Cowboys and head coach Craig Bohl another year.

The extra year will give him additional time to grow and prepare. “It’s my plan to play 15-plus years in the NFL, and being mentally ready is a huge component for the guys who are playing—like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers,” Allen says. “I play it because I want to be the best.”

Allen says that the team’s goal this year is the Fiesta Bowl, but to get there, the Cowboys are taking things one step at a time. “In order to do that, you’d have to win the Mountain West championship. In order to do that, you’d have to make the Mountain West championship. You set your goals high, and then you cross things out as you get to those steps.”

Allen hails from Firebaugh, Calif., population 8,300, where his family owns a farm. There, he played high school football. As a senior, the now 6-foot-5, 235-pounder only weighed in at 185. He received almost no interest from NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools and ended up playing his freshman season for Reedley College, a community college near home, before joining the Cowboys in 2015.

“This has been absolutely the best place for me,” Allen says of UW. “The guys on the team here are just the greatest guys I’ve ever encountered in my life. I love every single one of these guys.”

He also enjoys how the campus feels like one small town, with lots of friendly faces. “It’s a special place,” Allen says.

Over spring break, he attended a quarterback camp in San Diego with some of the best college players in the nation. He says that the experience helped him to refine his skills and also to learn preparation techniques.

With all the hype around potentially being a No. 1 draft pick next year, his family and teammates help him stay grounded. Allen says he largely ignores the attention and instead focuses on the season ahead—hoping to give Cowboys fans a great experience.

“The fans are always here through thick and thin—through rain, shine or snow, 60-degree temperatures to 5-degree temperatures, like at the Mountain West championship game,” Allen says. “They’re the embodiment of what a true fan is, and it’s great to have that.”

It will no doubt be a fun ride watching the Cowboys this season—and the 2018 draft next spring.

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