As he approaches first NFL playoff game, LeQuint Allen has won over Jaguars the same way he did CNY

Syracuse, NY. — LeQuint Allen built a reputation at Syracuse for his versatility, doing whatever was required to help Syracuse football to a win.

During his rookie season in the NFL, the seventh-round pick has only built on that, with teammates already proclaiming him the best pass-blocker at his position in the NFL and adding kick return duties to his skillset.

On Sunday, the running back and his Jacksonville Jaguar teammates will host the Buffalo Bills in one of the most compelling games in the first round of the NFL Playoffs

While Allen is unlikely to have a starring role, his first season in the NFL has already been an unqualified success.

The majority of seventh-round picks don’t crack the active roster of their NFL teams. Allen told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he’ll be active for the playoff game this weekend.

He’s played in every game for Jacksonville this season and, despite his draft status, he never questioned whether he’d stick in the NFL.

“I knew I was ready,” Allen said. “I’ve played this game since I was a little kid. I never doubted that.”

As his rookie season approaches its end, it’s clear that Allen has won over his new teammates the same way he won over Syracuse – with an enthusiastic approach, a do-anything attitude and an infectious laugh – making good on his decision to leave school early and head to the NFL.

“LeQuint Allen is one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had,” Jacksonville fifth-year offensive lineman Robert Hainsey told Jaguars reporter Mia O’Brien in November after a win over the San Diego Chargers. “He’s the best pass-blocking running back in the NFL — and I don’t think it’s close.”

Allen left Syracuse after the Orange’s 10-win season in 2024 with one year of eligibility remaining.

Following the Orange’s 52-35 win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl, Allen said he met with Fran Brown to discuss the future.

Allen said there was no moment in that meeting that changed his mind or solidified his decision.

He is making just under $900,000 as a seventh-round pick in the NFL this season, according to Spotrac. That will jump to over $1 million in Year 2.

Allen said Syracuse offered him enough money that a return would have been a viable option if that’s what he wanted to do.

“They offered me money,” Allen said. “I just felt it was the right time to go.”

Allen said that he began the year intending for it to be his last in college. And nothing happened during the year that changed his mind.

He was one of two players in college football with 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards, joining New York Giants rookie Cam Skattebo. The Orange won 10 games, tying for the most wins in a season for Syracuse its 11-0-1 season in 1987.

During their final meeting, Allen said that he and Brown agreed nothing happened that would have changed his charted course. They parted ways on a positive note, with Allen leaving as one of the most beloved players in the program in recent years.

“We ended it the right way, having the season we had, the way we wanted,” Allen said, before offering a brief correction that highlighted his self confidence. “Maybe not quite the way we wanted, but pretty good.”

Like other key members of the 2024 team, Allen maintained high expectations, a trait that he carried with him to the pros.

He said he never questioned whether he’d make it in the NFL, never wondered if he was good enough to stick in the league despite his draft status.

In addition to his on-field efforts, Allen stayed at Syracuse through a judicial affairs issue in which he faced a suspension for defending himself while coming to the aid of a teammate in a late-night scuffle between students.

Allen told Syracuse.com that his settlement with the school included a promise that he wouldn’t discuss the incident publicly and he would continue to abide by that pledge.

“I can’t talk about it,” Allen said. “I can’t. I’d love to, but I can’t.”

Allen’s loyalty to his team remains striking.

Many players of his ability would have chosen to leave, seeking a fresh start at a place where he’d be a valued football player without any of the accompanying stress.

All Allen would say about that period is that he had options around the country if he’d wanted to leave but that he elected to stay.

At Syracuse, Allen became renowned among his teammates for the energy that he brought to Syracuse practices, a standard that ensure that his teammates would work hard to match him or find themselves shown up by his effort.

He brought the same approach to training camp in Jacksonville, where he was in the mix during an array of Jacksonville’s training camp shoving matches because of the physical way he practiced.

He was part of Jacksonville’s first in-team scuffle with Jacksonville linebacker Branson Combs and at the center of another dust-up with the Miami Dolphins.

Allen said he never considered toning down his efforts to appease Jacksonville’s veterans. In fact, he said, he believes they appreciate his approach.

“Once we put the pads on in training camp, he and (linebacker Ventrell Miller) had a pretty gnarly blitz in practice where you were like, ‘Woah, you’ve got to take a step back here,’ Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen said about Allen earlier this year. ”How he stepped up, how we met him it was just a great rep from both sides, honestly. And you saw [Le]Quint’s reaction after and you’re like, ‘OK, this guy’s got something.’ ”

That something has carried over.

Allen has been active for Jacksonville every game this season, averaging just over 15 snaps per game. Used primarily as a third-down back, 60 percent of his offensive snaps have come on pass plays.

He has been highlighted by the Jaguars on social media videos multiple times this season, once for taking the blame in a team meeting for missing a block and another for blocking and, most recently, for standing up Oakland Pro Bowl defensive lineman Maxx Crosby in pass protection.

“LeQuint exemplifies so much of what being a Jaguar is and what it means,” Coen said earlier this year. “The guy loves football, he loves to compete, he loves his teammates. He’ll do anything for these guys. And I think that shows in the way that he plays, his effort, everybody sees it and it helps continue to elevate the standard of what effort actually means.”