Days before 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Allen once reflected on his meteoric rise in Wyoming: “It’s not by luck that I’m here”

Josh Allen is one of the biggest names in the NFL. During his time in the league, the Buffalo Bills quarterback has taken his team to the playoffs on numerous occasions but has never made it to the Super Bowl.

While Allen is now a well-known name, it was not like that when he started college. Unlike most other future stars, Allen only received one offer from to join a program. This came from the Wyoming Cowboys, and only after Allen spent a season at a junior college. He accepted this offer and played three seasons with the team.

On the eve of the 2018 NFL Draft, in which Allen was chosen as the seventh overall pick by the Buffalo Bills, he reflected on his time with Wyoming.

"It's not by luck that I'm here. It's not by chance. I was put at the University of Wyoming for a reason."

Allen had a good record with Wyoming. He played 27 games in the three seasons he spent with the team, throwing for a total of 5,066 yards and 44 touchdowns.

In both the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Allen led the Cowboys to a bowl game, with the 2016 appearance coming after Wyoming made the Mountain West Conference Championship game. This is the only instance till now of Wyoming making this game.

Allen was key to this run, leading the conference that season in TDs scored. However, he also led the conference that season in interceptions.

This is still something that Allen appears to struggle with, but his all-out athleticism and strong plays on offense can outweigh the effect these interceptions have had.

Josh Allen explains how he ended up at Wyoming

Josh Allen also once spoke to the media about how he ended up at Wyoming in the first place. He told Yahoo Sports in 2018:

“I was at junior college, I was begging teams to give me a scholarship. Sending emails out and hoping to hear back from them. I got one opportunity and that was with the University of Wyoming. Thankfully, they gave me an opportunity, and I took advantage of it.”

The Josh Allen story shows that top quarterbacks don't always play at the top schools (Alabama, Ohio State, etc.) and that they can be found all around the country. By giving him a chance, the Wyoming Cowboys were able to develop Allen into the star he is today.