Wyoming
Reusse: Before he became leader of the NFL’s Bills, quarterback Josh Allen proved others wrong and his Wyoming coach right
Allen came back from the broken collarbone in 2016 and things changed. “He was 6-foot-3½ and 210 when he got to Wyoming, and on his way to 6-5 and 240 when he left,” Bohl said. “And he had that arm … always had that.”
Wyoming went 6-2 in the conference, won its division and lost 27-24 to San Diego State in the conference title game.
“The NFL teams were around,” Bohl said. “He would’ve been taken in the first round, I believe, if he had gone pro after that first year as a starter for us. The NFL loved his size, strength, his arm, his competitiveness.
“We played BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. We lost 27-24, and he was trying to decide … whether to enter the draft or come back with us.
“You know what I think swayed him? His parents, the whole family, are tremendously competitive, get-the-job-done people. And his mother, LaVonne, said to him when it was getting down to decision time: ‘Josh, do you really want the last pass you throw in college to be an interception to BYU to end a three-point bowl loss?’ ”
The answer was no. He went back to Wyoming for 2017. He had a shoulder sprain and missed a couple of games late in the season.