Moncell Allen’s punishing blocks against Louisville didn’t go unnoticed Saturday but they didn’t exactly garner the spotlight Allen might have gained at his previous position. Meanwhile, his former teammate and predecessor at fullback, John Conner, continues to gain national acclaim on HBO’s hit series “Hard Knocks,” earning a starting position on the New York Jets.
The comparison couldn’t be more fitting for Allen as he transitions to his new position at fullback.
Since learning at last year’s Music City Bowl that the coaching staff wanted Allen to change positions, he hasn’t exactly been thrilled about the change.
“Of course I wasn’t too happy at all about it,” Allen said. “I heard it from my teammates and different stuff like that. I heard people saying, ‘Hey man, I heard Joker’s talking about moving you to fullback.’ I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to fullback until he comes and talks to me. I’m not really going to make that move.’ “
But faced with a dilemma to watch on the sideline with his helmet as a running back or get on the field as a fullback, Allen was forced to accept the change. After delivering some key blocks that helped the Kentucky rushing offense to 230 yards and a 23-16 win over archrival U of L, Allen finally believes in the change.
“He’s now seeing himself (as a fullback),” head coach Joker Phillips said Monday at his weekly news conference. “We’ve been trying to convince him. He’s convincing himself that he’s a fullback now. I think that’s the hardest thing for a guy going from a tailback to a fullback.”
Despite rushing for 469 yards and three scores in his three years as a tailback, it was becoming increasingly clear that Allen was going to have a tough time finding playing time this year with the return of stud tailback Derrick Locke, the emergence of Donald Russell and a highly touted running back class.
Allen received carries, yards and touchdowns at tailback. Waving goodbye to that glory wasn’t going to be easy.
But as Allen started to watch Conner on “Hard Knocks” and realize the success he was having as a fullback, it became easier for Phillips and the coaching staff to sell the position to him. The New Orleans native thought if Conner could get to the NFL by being an underappreciated fullback, maybe he could to.
“Seeing John go in the league, get a chance to get drafted and then to go out there and to make the noise he’s making right now, it’s putting it in my head that I can go out there and do the same thing he’s doing,” Allen said. “Watching the ‘Hard Knocks’ thing makes it all worthwhile.”
If seeing is believing, then Allen finally believes. “Everybody saw (him as a fullback),” Phillips said. “The world saw him. The world saw him mowing people down. I think (‘Hard Knocks’) helps convince himself it’s not a bad gig after all.”
And feeling the fruits of his labor doesn’t hurt either. After springing Locke to several key runs in the Cats’ fourth straight win over Louisville, including a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter, Allen has earned the praise and respect of his teammates.
“Of course he did,” Allen said when asked if Locke thanked him for the open field. “He had no choice. … We hung out the next day and he talked about it the whole time.”
Despite losing college football’s No. 1 fullback to the pros in the offseason, Locke told reporters last week that he had zero doubts in Allen’s ability to replace Conner.
“Locke put the pressure on me and I put it on myself too,” Allen said. “I know people are expecting to me to be just like John Conner. You’re not going to get exactly John Conner. When you look at me, you’re going to get more than what John Conner can do to the team.”
Adjusting to the different angles of blocking and the headaches of increased head-to-head collisions is still a work in progress for Allen, but the goal of attacking somebody at the snap of the ball hasn’t changed.
“All the things that John has as far as special teams, catching the ball, athleticism for a big man, (Allen has that),” Phillips said. “The thing he has to do is show everybody he can block, he can get the tough short yardage. He has to show people he can block. He got off to a good start in doing it.”
