MADISON, Wis. — At the recent Boy Scout Leadership Breakfast at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, Braelon Allen got to show a different side.
"It's great opportunities," Badgers Running Back Braelon Allen says. "I'm a bit of a talker. I would say so, you know, being able to get on stage and just share my story a little bit and my values and how I got to this point."
Is the Badgers running back more comfortable in the spotlight?
"Having no choice but to do it over and over again," Allen says. "And now you kind of come to enjoy it. Especially where, somewhere like this and I definitely like to be at events where it's more based toward kids."
As far as his day job, he notices far more tempo.
"Definitely different from what I'm used to," Allen says. "But I think it's great. I enjoy it a lot and kind of throws the defense off a little bit, and makes them adjust to us, and I think that it's going to be difficult for defenses to try to contain."
Walter Camp Preseason Second Team All-American. An outside shot at the Heisman Trophy. How does the Fond du Lac native react?
"I don't really pay much mind to it," Allen says. "It's always obviously cool to be mentioned in those conversations but at the end of the day, I have a job and just try to do that to the best of my ability and win games."
But he's not totally cold-blooded. He can feel the buzz around the Badgers.
"Absolutely," Allen says. "I think just the new staff. The new team and all the transfers and guys that we brought in are going to make this team very exciting. And obviously, that excites the fans a lot as well so I think everybody's just ready to see."
Recently Badger running greats Jonathan Taylor, Melvin Gordon, James White, and Montee Ball all praised Braelon Allen, saying he has the vision and balance to become an elite-level running back.
