Allen, Edwards Hungry as They Make Senior Return

Josh Allen couldn’t help but hear the buzz.
 
In the midst of his junior season, the pass-rushing linebacker was being talked about as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick should he opt to declare early.
 
The thought was a little overwhelming. He admits it.
 
“You’ve been thinking about this since you were young, since you were children,” Allen said. “I grew up wanting to play in the league and it was just like, ‘I can play.’ At that time, I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m here.’ “
 
To Allen’s credit, he didn’t let that feeling get the better of him.
 
“You always gotta calm down,” Allen said. “I just had to breathe, relax and say, ‘All right, Josh, just do what you do. Keep playing how you play. Respect everybody you go against. Respect your teammates. Respect your coaches. Your time will come.’ “
 
As it turns out, that time won’t come for another year. Allen, after weighing his options, decided this week to return for his senior season at Kentucky.
 
“It was stressful at times, but it was also humbling,” Allen said. “Just for me to at that point where I can choose to go to the NFL or come back, it was just humbling. I think was pretty cool.”
 
It was a good thing for Allen that he had a teammate and friend to lean on during the process in Mike Edwards. The play-making safety who has started 31 games and received All-Southeastern Conference recognition in back-to-back seasons had to make the very same decision.
 
“Somebody’s going through the same thing I’m going through, it helps me actually, too,” Edwards said. “Me and him both (put our heads together) and really just combine thoughts and basically share what we had to say.”
 
In the end, Edwards’ decision was the same as Allen’s. When he called Mark Stoops from his home in Cincinnati to let his coach know of the decision, he could feel the excitement through the phone.
 
“When I told him, he was just jumping for joy, really,” Edwards said.
 
That excitement makes sense, particularly since the return of Edwards and Allen means 10 starters on UK’s defense in 2017 will be back in 2018. In addition to Edwards and Allen, that includes seniors Adrian Middleton, Denzil Ware, Jordan Jones, Derrick Baity, Lonnie Johnson, Chris Westry and Darius West.
 
“We can’t just have two or three leaders on defense,” Allen said. “We gotta have multiple. At every position have a leader. Not just somebody who does good in games. We need senior leadership who’s been there, who’s been in the trenches.”
 
Both Edwards and Allen say all that returning experience was a factor in their respective decisions. They know they have a chance to play on the best group of their college careers next fall.
 
“I felt like since the time I’ve been here, we haven’t been to the SEC Championship and that’s something I want to go to and just win all the games we can win,” Edwards said. “Especially all of us returning except for one starter, that’s definitely a big boost for us coming back and that’s what I really thought about when I came back.”
 
Both Edwards and Allen, of course, also thought about their own improvement as players. Both have been standouts during their time as Wildcats, but the feedback they received during the draft evaluation process told them what they need to do to go to the next level.
 
“Another year before I go into the NFL, I feel like my body wasn’t all the way ready,” Edwards said. “I feel like this offseason I’m really going to take time in the weight room and get with Coach Ed (Director of Performance Corey Edmond) and just take care of my body and get better and bigger, stronger.”
 
“I think I can improve a lot more,” Allen said. “I think I still have a lot to prove. I feel like the beginning of the season, I came out with a hot start. Towards the end, I kind of slowed down a little bit. I feel like next year, once I improve on my stamina, my strength, my speed and all that, I feel like I can last more.”
 
Allen and Edwards believe they will improve in a final season at UK, but they also both have separate individual motivation for coming back. For Edwards, it’s the prospect of graduating and fulfilling his parents’ wishes.
 
“They wanted me to get my degree more than anything,” Edwards said. “I really see where they’re coming from and I really want to get my degree too.”
 
For Allen, it’s his newborn son, Wesley, who arrived just last week.
 
“It changed everything, once he came,” Allen said. “That’s another way it humbled me. Everything I do affects him now. I feel like just being here with him also affects my decision and all that.”
 
Though it pales in comparison to being a father, Allen also has a record in mind. He’s a mere 12 sacks away from UK’s career record of 26. Oliver Barnett currently holds the record and his son, Elijah, is a teammate of Allen’s. Both the elder and younger Barnett have challenged Allen to set a new mark, but Allen knows there’s something else he and the UK defense must do to make that happen.
 
“So I want to go do it,” Allen said. “I’m going to do everything I can to get to that point, but we all know where it starts this year: We gotta stop the run.”