Bobby Allen played quarterback in high school and college, and when his sons — Christian, Brandon and Austin — began playing football, he didn’t push them to play the position. But he certainly planted the idea.

“He always told us, ‘Quarterback is the place you want to be — you want the ball in your hands,’” Christian Allen said.

The ball will be in Brandon Allen’s hands Sunday as the Broncos’ new quarterback against Cleveland. Allen will make his first NFL start, replacing Joe Flacco, who sustained a season-ending neck injury last week at Indianapolis.

Allen became used to having the ball in his hands early on, starting three years in high school in Fayetteville, Ark., and later the University of Arkansas. But since being drafted by Jacksonville in 2016, his only playing time has come in the preseason. The Broncos’ 538th offensive snap of the year will be Allen’s first of his career.

“It’s something I have always worked for and tried to be ready for,” Allen said. “This will be a great opportunity.”

The opportunity may be fleeting if the Broncos decide to give second-round rookie Drew Lock a look next month. But Allen wants to take advantage.

He will be well represented in the stands. The ticket count is 16 — including his father, sister Daniele, two brothers, aunts, uncles and college friends — and rising heading into the weekend.

“It will be cool to see him out there and everything, but I would like to think it’s just another football game because you don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Austin Allen said. “And I’ve seen him play so much, I know what he can do.”

Brandon’s family traced his journey to wearing the Broncos’ No. 2 jersey in interviews with The Denver Post this past week.

Sports family

The Allen family was all about sports. After playing at Virginia Tech, Bobby Allen began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Colorado (1983-84) and has been on the Arkansas staff since 1998, currently as director of high school and NFL relations.



Bobby and Marcela Allen have four children: Christian, 29; Brandon, 27, and Austin, 25; and Daniela, 23. Christian played baseball at Ark.-Fort Smith and Austin succeeded Brandon as the starting quarterback at Fayetteville High and Arkansas.

Daniela Allen: “Oh yeah, (always sports). I didn’t even do cheerleading or dance or anything like that. It had to be basketball, softball, tennis, football — I always wanted to be in the backyard with my brothers. I may have come inside crying a couple of times, but I always wanted to compete with them. I was 7 or 8 years old and we would be playing ‘21’ and they wouldn’t want me to play so they would raise the goal. I would throw a fit in the house until my parents went out to make them let me play.”

Christian Allen: “It didn’t matter (the sport), we were always super competitive.”

Brandon was born in Minnesota and the Allens moved to Fayetteville from Idaho when Bobby joined Arkansas’ staff. Brandon began playing football in elementary school, but wasn’t a quarterback.

Bobby Allen: “It really wasn’t until he got to the seventh grade that one of the coaches wanted him to work at quarterback. In eighth grade, the coach said, ‘Who wants to try quarterback?’ and Brandon raised his hand. He always had a good arm and was a good baseball player.”

Christian Allen: “Brandon was always one of the bigger kids back then. A little chubby. They put him on the offensive line and at linebacker when he first started out. He always knew he wanted to play quarterback.”

On football Saturdays, the Allen boys would get to the Razorbacks’ stadium early so they could throw the football around the field. They watched the games from the sideline and would often run out to get the tee after kickoffs. At home, Bobby, a coach on defense, returned to his quarterback roots with his sons.

Marcela Allen: “Bobby knowing the (quarterback) position himself was very beneficial. He not only played all the sports with them but taught them the fundamentals. He had them around the (Arkansas) practice field and they threw the ball all the time and talked about football and the schemes of the game.”

Brandon led his high school to the state championship in 2011 and the Bulldogs scored at least 40 points in 11 of their 15 games.

Austin Allen: “In high school, if you’re going to the SEC, you should be able to dominate and he did just that. I got to play a lot of fourth quarters that year.”

Staying home for college

In the 247Sports rankings, Allen was a three-star recruit and the eighth-ranked pro style quarterback nationally. Current Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett was ranked third. But once then-Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino offered Allen a scholarship, the recruiting process was over — Allen was going to play for the hometown team.

Bobby Allen: “(The recruiting) was kind of quiet. We got him in our camp after his sophomore year and (Petrino) offered him and he committed. I asked Brandon, ‘Are you sure about it? Don’t come here because of me. Make your own decision.’ And he said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ He shut it off after that. He said he didn’t want to talk to anybody (from other colleges), didn’t want to take any phone calls. He was bound and determined to go to Arkansas.”

Christian Allen: “I knew whenever he got the offer to go to Arkansas, he was going there. That’s our hometown school. That was always his No. 1.”

Brandon started one game as a redshirt freshman and took over full-time in 2013. His first two years as the starter, the Razorbacks went 3-9 and 7-6. In football-mad Arkansas, that drew criticism.

Daniela Allen: “There were highs and lows. When he played great, everybody would praise him. If he didn’t, I would see it on Twitter and I would be the one defending him and attacking those people on Twitter.”

Connecting with Enos

After Allen’s junior year (2014), offensive coordinator Jim Chaney left for the University of Pittsburgh. Coach Bret Bielema hired Central Michigan coach Dan Enos to replace him. As a senior, Allen improved his completion percentage from 56.0 to 65.9, his yardage from 2,285 to 3,440 and his touchdowns from 20 to 30. And, the Razorbacks finished 8-5.

Bobby Allen: “I just think their personalities worked. Dan was a real student of the game and he wanted to really try and take his players and drive them to be the best they could be and Brandon has that kind of competitive spirit about him. Brandon had a lot of respect for him and that’s one reason why they clicked.”

Austin Allen: “Coach Enos was one of the best coaches I’ve been around. He really coaches you hard and expects you to make every throw. Whatever coverage the defense gave you, he coached you so well, you knew exactly where to go with the ball. And how he was able to teach us footwork, drops, where our eyes are supposed to go — anyplace he goes, he makes the whole quarterback room better.”

Asked about their favorite Brandon games for Arkansas, his family pointed to three: A 54-46 win over Auburn in four overtimes (Allen was 19-of-31 passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns), a 53-52 win over Mississippi in two overtimes (Allen was 33 of 45 for 442 yards and six touchdowns and a two-point conversion run to win it) and a 51-50 loss to Dak Prescott-led Mississippi State (Allen was 30 of 43 for 406 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns).

Marcela Allen: “The Ole Miss game was very nerve-wracking. The outcome was amazing.”

Austin Allen: “Watching Brandon and Dak (508 passing yards) go at it was pretty special for everybody involved, seeing two players of that caliber having that type of game.”

Long wait over

A sixth-round draft pick by Jacksonville in 2016, Allen was a healthy scratch for all 16 games and was cut after the 2017 training camp. Claimed off waivers by the Rams, he was on their active roster and practice squad from September 2017 to August of this year. Being around coach Sean McVay proved valuable.

Bobby Allen: “Tremendous to have that opportunity to sit in that room.”

Austin Allen: “That was probably the best thing that could happen to him. To be able to get coached by him, I bet you a lot of quarterbacks wish they had that opportunity.”

In a span of Labor Day Weekend, Brandon was the No. 3 for the Rams, waived by them and claimed by the Broncos to be their No. 2.

Austin Allen: “I went to his final preseason game with L.A. when they played the Texans. He was a little bit worried about what his future might hold. Twelve hours later, he gets a call saying he’s getting cut. Hours after that, he gets a call to say he was headed to Denver. You see teams keep picking him up so they saw something and they know he can play football.”

The Allen family began arriving in Denver on Thursday night. Marcela will stay back in Fayetteville to watch after her mother. She won’t watch the game live, either.

Marcela Allen: “I won’t be able to watch the game, believe it or not. The older I get, the more nervous I get. I depend on my kids and my husband to keep me posted. After the game is over, I’ll watch a recorded version.”

At 2:25 p.m., Allen’s work will pay off when he starts for the Broncos.

Daniela Allen: “It’s been a while. He’s been waiting for this moment.”