Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Look at Josh Allen’s Legacy at The University of Wyoming | Buffalo Bills

Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Look at Josh Allen’s Legacy at The University of Wyoming | Buffalo Bills

It was a pretty good spot to watch the game. Hell yeah, it is. Holy cow. So beautiful. This place is so sick. Yeah. I I I’ll never forget the first the first big memory of Josh Allen right near the W. Triple overtime. 2:34 in the morning. I kid you not, I almost died. Like if if you go back and look at the dog pile that was on top of me. Touchdown. I was under there. Jake Hollister’s like right on top and I’m like Hollister’s like get off him. Get off him. It was like and I legit like started like going dark. My eyes were going dark cuz I was like I’m passing out right now. He’s the same dude he was. He’s still got a smile on his face, jokes around. his ability to humanize people and just instantly become a friendly face. That’s what he is. Uh he’s real. There’s no phony about Josh. He’s the real deal. Everything he does for Wyoming, you know, he put Wyoming on the map. Like Wyoming on top. God, let’s be honest. He’s like our superstar, our God, our everything in Wyoming. You’re not going to find anybody say anything bad about Josh in Wyoming. He’s great. He’s making Wyoming proud. doing great for the Bills and the way that he has just really inspired the state and turned all of us into Bills fans. You’re going to see it tomorrow. The reaction, the emotion in the stadium, that’s when you’ll know what kind of impact he had on this state. Okay. What was the coldest game you played here? It was San Diego State Mountain West championship game. It was, I believe, 6° at kickoff. So, so here’s what we do. Going to that game. They got an all-American corner. They damn good player. So I told him and he this some thinks he’s got a S on his chest. So I told him I said, “Listen Josh, that corner is going to sit on this route.” So the hitch and so what’s Josh think he’s going to do? He’s going to go throw the hitch. Well, sure shooting. The corner picked it off and running down that sideline. Play fake. Josh Allen, no pressure whatsoever. Throw intercepted. You may not remember. We were on the 13 yd line. Oh bull. We were on the 13 yd line. I threw a stem route to Tanner Gentry. Damonte Kazy jumped it, picked it. I just happened to meet him at the goal line. Can I Can I finish this? Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. So, um, sure shooting. The guy’s running down. And I know these other weak quarterbacks, they just run away. What’s he do? He lights the son of a up. 5 yd line. Deontay leaps to the end zone. Ball came out. He fumbled it through the end zone. You know who knocked that ball out of his hands? Was Josh Allen. We can ball. Yeah. Touch back. And uh I look at him on the bench and he got blood coming down his lip and I said, “I told you don’t throw thating ball, but he’s hard-headed.” We gained yards on the play. Technically. Technically, we gained seven yards. How can you remember that? That was a good one. That was a fun one. Yeah. I mean, he would make so many plays that were I’d never seen before. It just gave you a real sense of confidence. no matter what game we were in, we were going to have a chance to win. And he always took ownership all day. It was It was It was unbelievable some of the plays he’d make. His ability to extend plays unlike any other quarterback I’ve ever seen. This time is Josh Allen running around looking for somewhere to go. He dances his way into the end zone. Touchdown. Wyoming wins against CSU, our arch rival, in the snow. And we look like we’re about to lose this game. The big arm of Josh Allen throws off the back foot and a diving couch. That was a drive that legends are made of. He calls his own number and literally runs over the safety, stands over him, and uh first down. I was that I was like that dude competes. [Applause] What’s really important some of the things that that I saw Josh embrace Wyoming. He’s not from Wyoming but dog gone it he has Wyoming values. You know it’s it’s uh the hard work, the loyalty, the the uh the leadership, the willing to take take things on himself. I’m very very proud to be an alum of the Wyoming Cowboy football program and I like to represent it as as well as I can. I’ve said this about Buffalo, but I I think it’s reiterated here too is if you actually care about football and getting better and becoming the best player that you can be, it’s it’s in a place like this. He from a small area, I think he really related to this small area. We’ve talked about this a hundred times, but he fit here like he did in Buffalo. Uh sometimes guys just get the break they need here in Colorado Springs. A critical Mountain West Conference clash as Air Force gets set to host Wyoming. Earlier that day. It was it was a packed day. We went to Colorado to see USC play there. So we’re going to get to see Sam Darnold who’s um obviously having a great career in the NFL. And then that was the day game. The night game is over at Air Force. And was like, man, this works out perfectly. We’re going to see Darnold and then we’re going to go see Josh. Play action again for Allen. delivers a missile down the field. It’s caught for the touchdown. The first three drives he is perfect. They’re up 21 nothing, I’m pretty sure, against Air Force. They’re mowing him down as Allen calls his own number. An easy score for number 17. They run a a throwback pass and he hands it to the back and the guy throws it back to him. They’re going to throw take a deep shot downfield. Long story short, as he’s throwing it, he gets hit on the elbow. He’s on the ground. He’s hurt. And I’m up there like, “You got to be kidding me.” He gets hurt against Air Force. He separates his shoulder. Everybody tells him, “Okay, you’re done.” When he got hurt that last year he was here, everybody knew he was going to get drafted. He separated his shoulder, get ready to go play in the NFL once it gets healed. Well, we rock along and lose a couple games, but we get in the Idaho Potato Bowl. You know, I had agents, I had coaches, I had family telling me not to play. There are so many athletes that check out, you know, before a bowl game. And I kind of get it. you know, the risk of injury and how that can impact their draft stock. I I get it. The great the Idaho Potato Bowl invited us, you know, to to so many people. That’s just a meaningless bowl game. Now, he knows he’s going to be a top 10 pick. A doctor cleared him to play, but everybody in the world told him, “Don’t play.” So, I pulled him aside a couple days for I said, “You’re ready to go if you want to play. It’s your decision.” He played in the Idaho Potato Bowl. He shows up there. It’s like loyalty. What did that mean to you, Vers? A lot. Tells you something about Josh, though. He came back. He said, “I’m not leaving my team.” That’s who he is. That’s Josh Allen. It’s about the brown and gold today, baby. I trust you guys. I love you guys. Go get this, bro. Dominate on three. 1 2 3. Dominate. And the very first drive, playaction pass, he gets back and he rips like a 25 yd. just a seed. Gosh, did he have a great game. It was so fun to watch. Just the way that he handled every snap. He just dominated. It was a fitting end to his career. It goes back to what separates Josh from 28, 29 other guys in the NFL who are bl behind center. It’s that competitive fire. He wanted one more chance to play and compete before he went to the NFL. I know. In today’s world where every athletees making all kinds of different decisions as far as playing in their bowl game, uh Josh has made the decision to play his final game and we applaud him for that. So, I can tell you this, if there’s any NFL team that’s looking for a competitor out there, you’re not going to find anybody more competitive and more team oriented than Josh Allen. Several NFL personnel people told me that’s why that’s why he’s going to be a great one. my why. I wish I could tell you that it was for someone else. It’s for me. Iing love this game. I love competing. I love winning. Um I love, and it’s going to sound really weird. I love feeling like I feel today after a loss. Gets me going. It really does. I get I’m got the chills thinking about it, man, cuz I love this game. You got to be a little sick to love this game because it can take a lot from you, but it can give you a whole lot, too. And what’s next for you? I got asked if I was going to declare for the draft or or what not. And I wasn’t really prepared to say whether yes or no. I think it was kind of expected, but all my teammates were like, just just say it. I will be declaring for the 2018 NFL draft. You know, that year there were five quarterbacks that were coming out. Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh, Josh Rosen, and Lamar Jackson. And so, a lot of buzz and a lot of digging. But I can tell you the Bills did more digging than anybody else. Josh, you know, was definitely checking all the boxes of great teammate, tough, hard worker, intelligent. What’s his leadership like? Does he does he speak up when the team needs it? All those were just checking the box of what you want in a in a franchise quarterback. They did their homework and the fruits of their labors been proven. First time meeting the Pagoulas was in Laram at Calvary men. They were there for an official visit. Josh was to fly direct to Laram, but his plane got delayed in LA. We were supposed to eat dinner like 7:00. His flight was delayed. We’re supposed to have dinner at 7:00. We sat down at 10:30. My fullback Drew Van Mannon picked me up. He drove me and I think that they were more surprised that a teammate would drive me because I mean Denver to to Laram is about two hours and they were just surprised that he somebody would do that. But the thing that I remember was Josh had the wherewithal to figure out plane delayed supposed to go to Laram flew to Denver got his buddy to come down and get him. So, I thought that was pretty impressive that he showed a lot of maturity there and and we had a great time at dinner. As a matter of fact, he was the one quarterback we went to see on this rounded visits that we actually had lunch with him the next day because we enjoyed our visit so much. The next day, we went over to the school line on set. Let’s go out just a little bit. reset. Did my private workout and what I remember is Terry Pagula, the owner of the Buffalo Bills, has his iPhone out and is like filming me as I’m dropping back, like going back and forth. And I think he was sweating as I was working out because he was moving so much. I was just like, “This guy seems very involved and obviously seems to care a lot.” The thing that stood out with Josh was when he threw sideline passes, you better be ready to catch them because they got there fast. It’s all in the hips. It’s all in the hips. Here we go. Reset. There was buzz. Obviously, just the draft night. We knew he was he was going to be a first round draft choice. And we’re like, “Wow, this is something that’s never happened here.” With the seventh pick, the Buffalo Bills select Josh Allen, quarterback, Wyoming. to have him drafted as high as he was. You’re going, “How can this be any better for Wyoming?” I’m not sure we really fully realized what we had. We knew he was great. Did we think he was going to be the MVP of the NFL? I don’t know if we really ever dreamed that. With the kick and the lead. I mean, he’s nailed it. He is in. Touchdown Buffalo. Oh, the play of the Seattle can do magical things. [Applause] He knew, hey, he just is the MVP of the league. Let’s do something we’ve never done. And the idea was to retire his number, which we’ve been thinking about for a few years. It’s just very hard to pull off for a quarterback in the NFL to take time out of the regular season. We knew that this was something we needed to do. It was the right thing to do is retire his number. I’ve seen a lot of great athletes that have come and gone through here and nobody like Josh. These hats might go fast, huh? Just kids. Only kids. I wasn’t sure if you were giving them to guys. No, I was going to hand them to kids. No, no, no. The kids during the season for Josh to come back here. It means so much to all of us. A November 22nd game in Laramie. It doesn’t sell many tickets, I have to tell you. But it’s sold out in like, you know, Metallica. I think he’s going to be overwhelmed by how much support and how much the state of Wyoming, the fans, the kids, the everybody that just truly love him. So, good to see you. Yeah, man. It’s been a long time. I was just telling every like I haven’t been back since proday. Like, it’s been 8 and 1/2 years. Give me some, dude. I’m appreciate you, brother. Thank you. Look at this. Oh, my guy. Good to see you, brother. Talking about you right there about I know. Catching Colorado State. The Fhe Wheel. Fhe wheel. It’s good to see you. Good to see you, buddy. I love you, man. How you doing? You look good. You look really good. There’s so many people that care about Josh, not just as the player, but as the human being. If we had 45,000 seats, there’d be 45,000 people here. You know, this place will be off the hook. You You come here. You You come here. Come here. I need the biggest beer snake possible. All right. I need the biggest beer snake possible. I need the beer snake. I need the beer snake. All right. Great job last night. Was that good? No, it was a home run. Was it? Yes. I hope so. you you it was an impromptu you spoke from your heart all the things that you said. Yeah. The last thing I wanted to do was give like coach talk, you know. Gosh, you you made a difference in those guys and it was true and it resonated. I mean, it was emotional for me to hear you. I’m looking again. I still cherish some of the friendships and the relationships that I’ve made when I was there. You know, guys that I still talk to, guys that I still hang out with. I I grew up, you know, not not not from a small age, but I grew up as a as a man with some of these men that are still in my life. So that that that suite you’re in, that’s what my kids used to always set. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay. So that’s the bull suite. No Well, it’s going to be interesting. You know, I’m going to be out on the field. It was interesting when I went back to Buffalo cuz I hadn’t seen him in seven years and it’s going to be emotional for me. I know it’s really touching for him. I’m just gonna really really enjoy embrace the moment. Do a family photo real quick. Is he crying yet? You know I’m going to cry. Cowboy fans, please welcome to the field number 17, Josh. You know, it’s a it’s kind of the ultimate tribute to our most famous alum. Nobody’s who’s who’s achieved this level of fame, who’s a household name. Wyoming is is a very large state, but we’re all connected by one thing, and that’s a bucking horse and rider. And right now, he is the face of Wyoming. We’re a national brand because of what he did and what he is continuing to do. I mean, on a national stage and he certainly put the University of Wyoming on the map. And the first cowboy to have his jersey retired at the University of Wyoming. to change this place. He changed our state. To have this ceremony unveiling his name and number in our stadium as the only retired jersey in history is a remarkable thing. I mean, but it’s so welld deserved. [Applause] Pretty cool. This place is special to me to have that opportunity to wear the brown and gold and he did the exact same thing. It meant a lot to him. It meant a lot to us. First off, I just want to say thank you for everybody coming out tonight. This is such an amazing honor, a huge blessing. There’s so many people that I can thank for this achievement. Um, a lot of teammates here. Love you guys. Coach Bo, Coach Vigs, people that believed in me, the fans and the support here in Wyoming. I’m so honored and blessed to represent this university in this beautiful state. I love you guys. Thank you. God bless. Go Pokes. And it will always suck to be a CSU Ram. I don’t think being the first means a lot to Josh, but I think just that his numbers retired because that’s the kind of person he is. He’s a leader, but he’s humble. I think his legacy is being uh honored as probably the greatest football player obviously that’s ever come through this place. Josh is a transformational face. He’s transformed the Buffalo Bills. He transformed the University of Wyoming. He’s a generational talent. He’s the ultimate competitor. It wasn’t easy all the time, but he was a competitor that refused to lose for us. Just one of the most dynamic players that has ever played here at the University Wild. He’s the greatest football player that ever played here. No doubt about that. And not only that, he’s a great human being. This is a person who does things right. He uh takes responsibility. He works really, really hard. He doesn’t blame other people for any kind of failures. He cares about people. He’s top shelf, first class. Everything he does. Josh is the face of our state to this day. He made people start to believe that we could do more than what we thought we could. From that little town, not being recruited to here, another little town to Buffalo. He makes some average places big. Let’s just say we all kind of feel a little bit like underdogs. And so when we see an underdog come shine and then go on to, you know, become an MVP, it’s like maybe we can do that. When somebody like Josh Allen is doing it the right way, it’s pretty awesome.

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Josh Allen’s first trip back to the University of Wyoming since being drafted. See Josh speak to the Wyoming football team and hear him mic’d up for his jersey retirement ceremony.

Presented by Highmark BCBS of WNY.

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