James Allen (running back)

James Allen (born March 28, 1975) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Oklahoma.

James Allen
No. 20
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1975-03-28) March 28, 1975
Wynnewood, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Wynnewood (OK)
College:Oklahoma
Undrafted:1997
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:670
Rushing yards:2,497
Rushing touchdowns:4
Receptions:133
Receiving yards:964
Receiving touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

College career

Allen attended the University of Oklahoma starting in 1993, and was a true freshman for the Sooners, such as rushing for 102 yards against the Texas Longhorns in a 38–17 victory.[1] He would finish his freshman year with 788 yards rushing and one touchdown.[2] The following year, Allen was stopped at the goal line in a loss to the Longhorns, and was later replaced by De'mond Parker in 1996, though Allen would score the game-winning touchdown that season against the Longhorns, giving the 3–8 Sooners the 30–27 win.[3]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand spanVertical jumpBench press
5 ft 10+1⁄8 in
(1.78 m)		 212 lb
(96 kg)		 31+7⁄8 in
(0.81 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		31.0 in
(0.79 m)		11 reps
All values from NFL Combine[4]

Allen signed with the Chicago Bears on December 10, 1997,[5] though he was released on August 26, 1998.[6] He later was brought back on September 1, and placed on the Bears practice squad.[7] Allen was the Bears starting halfback,[8] and in 2000, he led the team with 1,120 rushing yards and two touchdowns.[9] During the season, Allen became the first Bears player to run for 100 yards since the 1998 season when he ran for 163 yards in his first career start against the Baltimore Ravens. However, in a loss to the New York Jets, Allen fumbled three times.[10] Allen's starting role was claimed by Anthony Thomas in 2001.[11] Against the Cleveland Browns in Week 8, Allen caught the game-tying Hail Mary pass from Shane Matthews that was deflected towards Allen, as the Bears went on to defeat the Browns 27–21.[12]

Allen later played for the expansion Houston Texans in the 2002 season, which was their inaugural season,[13] and started five games for the team, splitting duties with Jonathan Wells. Allen finished second behind Wells in rushing yards for the team with 519 yards.[14] However, in 2003, Allen retired from the NFL to become a rapper under the stage name Mersilis,[15] saying that he "lost a little bit of that fire".[16] Allen had skipped the Texans preseason game against the Denver Broncos due to "personal issues".[17] Two weeks later, Allen decided to unretire,[18] though Texans officials ruled him out of being with the team for the 2003 season, and he was released after not being claimed by any team.[15] In his career, Allen amassed 2,497 yards and four touchdowns.[19]

NFL career statistics
YearTeamGPAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTD
1998CHI 6582704.75718779.6331
1999CHI 12321193.713099110.1170
2000CHI 162901,1203.9292392917.5261
2001CHI 161354693.5191302036.8341
2002HOU 161555193.3320473026.4210
Career666702,4973.75741339647.2343

References
  1. "1993 Oklahoma vs. Texas Game Recap". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  2. "James Allen". SoonerSports.com. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  3. Trotter, Jake (July 9, 2012). "Five memorable plays from OU-Texas". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  4. "James Allen, Combine Results, RB - Oklahoma". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  5. "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. December 10, 1997. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  6. Simon, Geroy (August 26, 1998). "Bears: Released RB James Allen and WR Randal Hill. Placed..." Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  7. "Bears: Claimed S Ray Austin from Jets and DT Bryan..." Baltimore Sun. September 1, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  8. Alder, James (August 17, 2000). "NFL 2000 Preview". About.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  9. B. Duane Cross (July 19, 2001). "2001 Chicago Bears team preview". CNN Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  10. "PACKERS HOPE ALLEN, BEARS DROP THE BALL GREEN BAY WOULD LIKE TO FORCE A REPEAT OF JAMES ALLEN'S THREE-FUMBLE PERFORMANCE VS. THE JETS.(Sports)". Wisconsin State Journal. Highbeam Research. November 28, 2000. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  11. Taylor, Roy. "2001 Chicago Bears". BearsHistory.com. Retrieved December 16, 2012. Shane Matthews and James Allen began the season as starters at quarterback and halfback, but they were soon passed up by Jim Miller and rookie Anthony Thomas.
  12. "Cleveland Browns vs. Chicago Bears - Recap - November 04, 2001". ESPN. November 4, 2001. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  13. "2002 HOUSTON TEXANS ALPHABETICAL ROSTER" (PDF). Houston Texans. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  14. "Allen had retired to pursue rap career". ESPN. Associated Press. August 26, 2003.
  15. Pasquarelli, Len (August 29, 2003). "Allen wants to return to league". ESPN. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  16. Grant, Alan (August 23, 2003). "Former running back made right move". ESPN. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  17. "Texans Running Back James Allen Retires". Highbeam Research. August 11, 2003. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  18. "NFL Running Back James Allen Unretires". Highbeam Research. August 25, 2003. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  19. "James Allen". nfl.com. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
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