Eau Gallie senior Joseph Allen was ready to attack his junior season after a successful first season with the Commodores in 2024.
However, in the first game of the season, Allen suffered a season-ending injury and had to watch from the sidelines.
“It’s definitely been difficult, but just seeing football from a different perspective up in the press box and everything, seeing what the defense does,” Allen said. “It just helps me understand football on the mental side, not just physically.”
With one of the most talented teams in the state around him, Allen said he’s excited to return to the field for his senior year.
“Just great to be back out here with the team with the injury and everything,” Allen said. “I went through a lot of adversity, but God has a plan for everybody and that’s what he had for me. I’m just glad to be back out here healthy.”
Allen said he learned a lot by examining the game from a different viewpoint. He said he communicated with coaches every day during the season to discuss the previous game.
“I just learned what the defense does, how I can dictate them, just see what coach (Trenton) Guy sees. We would talk every day,” Allen said. “He would ask me what the game plan is and everything, even when I wasn’t playing, just understanding what’s going on and I just helped him a lot. I felt like I was pretty much a coach, but I was a still a player and helped be a leader on the team.”
Allen first broke out onto the scene as a freshman at Melbourne Central Catholic throwing for 2,174 yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In his first season at Eau Gallie in 2024, Allen nearly replicated those marks in a bigger class throwing for 2,376 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“My journey’s been rough, but it’s been amazing. Just all the different places I’ve been, the adversity I’ve gone through,” Allen said. “I was at MCC and then I come here and lose my junior year. It’s just been great, but I’m just glad to be back from my senior year and go on that run.”
Allen, who began playing quarterback at 8 years old, said his sophomore season increased his belief that he can play college football at the next level.
“My tape just showed I got the velocity, I got the arm, I can read the defense. It sucked losing my junior year, but I showed it my sophomore year,” Allen said. “That’s what all the college coaches would say that’s great that I had my sophomore tape with losing my junior year. The way I was able to read the defense and everything, it helped me stand out to all the coaches.”
That childhood dream will continue at the next level as Allen announced his commitment to Towson on May 29.
“They came and watched me over this past spring and they offered me and they asked me to come up on a visit,” Allen said. “I came up and saw the facility, talked to (head) coach (Pete) Shinnick and coach Adam (Neugebauer). Just the environment and the coaching staff showing me all the love I knew that was home.”
The senior will be responsible in spreading the football around to the numerous weapons around him.
“We got a lot of athletes on our team and we just got to keep our team chemistry together,” Allen said. “We got a lot of people from different areas and we just got to come together, start hanging outside of football and school and just build that team chemistry so we can go on that run.”
Allen said he hopes to lead Eau Gallie to the school’s first state championship. Along with the big team goal, he also has his sights on big individual goals of 4,000 passing yards and no interceptions.
“We got a target on our back and we just got to come through every game,” Allen said. “We got to come out there and play our game no matter who the competition is or what they say or what happens. We got to come and play Eau Gallie football.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Dandy Dozen: Joseph Allen ready to set aside injury, lead Eau Gallie