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LeQuint Allen Jr. reminds Syracuse center J’Onre Reed of National Football League quarterback Jameis Winston.

Winston, a Heisman Trophy winner and 10-year NFL veteran, famously uses his contagious personality to ignite players around him. While Allen Jr. doesn’t have Winston’s experience, Reed says the running back carries himself similarly.

Once Allen Jr. steps on the field, however, he views himself as a mesh between a lion and an ape because of his relentless and tough play style. The perfect storm of his polar opposite qualities is why Reed, who is nearly four years older than the running back, looks up to Allen Jr.

“He’s the standard,” Reed said.

Allen Jr., a 2023 Second-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, burst onto the scene as a true freshman at Syracuse in the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl. In his lone start of the year, he tallied 154 all-purpose yards before becoming SU’s primary running back as a sophomore. Fresh off a 2023 campaign with 1,064 rushing yards, a team-leading 38 receptions and 10 total touchdowns, Allen Jr. enters his junior season as a focal point of Syracuse’s revamped roster.

“He’s the heart of the team,” SU head coach Fran Brown said of Allen Jr. “If we all had that heartbeat, we’d be pretty good.”

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Allen Jr.’s makeup is apparent to everyone around him now, but it took time to develop. When he first began training with Marcus Hammond and playing seven-on-seven football with Next Level Greats as a 10th-grader, Hammond remembers Allen Jr. being quiet.

Even so, Allen Jr. was tenacious on the gridiron. In Allen Jr.’s first game playing for NLG, they faced off against the Carolina Stars, led by Drake Maye — the future No. 3 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft — at quarterback.

Hammond vividly remembers Allen Jr., one of the younger players on the team, getting hit so hard by a linebacker that he flew through the air. That play is what Hammond attributes to Allen Jr. realizing he needed to step up his game.

A year later, NLG faced South Florida Express, spearheaded by current Colorado standout Travis Hunter. Coming off a season where their only loss was to the Stars, Hammond said the Express beat NLG “pretty bad.” Yet what stood out to Hammond was Allen Jr.’s two-way fearlessness.

“LeQuint’s a dog,” Hammond said. “Pitbull, salivating at the mouth, ready to go to war.”

Allen Jr. continued progressing with NLG and at Millville High School (New Jersey). He became the 2022 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year and racked up offers from Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Temple, Rutgers and Virginia, among others. Toward the end of his junior year, he committed to the Orange and arrived on campus in January 2022.

As a true freshman, Allen Jr. understood his role on the team as Sean Tucker’s backup. Tucker was coming off a program-record 1,496 rushing yards in 2021, and Allen Jr. said he wanted to follow in his footsteps.

LeQuint Allen Jr. is looking to become Syracuse’s first running back selected in the NFL Draft since Delone Carter was a fourth round pick in 2011. Sadie Jones | Contributing Photographer

Allen Jr. received limited playing time in the regular season but showed flashes throughout. He had a 90-yard run against Wagner and notched passing and receiving touchdowns against Wake Forest while being a key piece on special teams.

But everything in his life changed after he torched Minnesota’s defense at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 29, 2022. He cemented himself as Syracuse’s next star running back in the waiting. Then, it appeared he’d never have the chance to prove it.

Nearly two months after the Pinstripe Bowl, Allen Jr.’s father, LeQuint Allen Sr., was shot and killed at a home in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, on Feb. 14, 2023. Syracuse.com reported Allen Sr.’s death coincided with the beginning of Allen Jr.’s disciplinary proceedings with Syracuse University’s Office of Community Standards.

This resulted from an on-campus fight that took place in December 2022 on the university’s South Campus. In a Dec. 11 affidavit, Allen Jr. said he punched a man in “self-defense” after he was hit twice in the face.

Allen Jr. was issued a two-semester suspension from SU in June 2023. As a result, he sued the university in hopes of becoming eligible to rejoin the football program for the fall. A month later, the two sides reached an agreement, allowing Allen Jr. to rejoin Syracuse for the 2023 season.

“Knowing everything I’ve been through, all the doubts and everybody don’t want to see me win,” Allen Jr. said on what motivates him.

When Allen Jr. returned, it was back to business. This time, as the featured running back.

Week in and week out, Allen Jr. showcased he was among the best running backs in the ACC. As Syracuse’s season progressed, so did his value to the team. First, the Orange lost receiving weapons Trebor Peña and Oronde Gadsden II with season-ending injuries. Next, their offensive line was decimated. Then, quarterback Garrett Shrader was no longer healthy enough to operate under center.

So, Syracuse put the ball in Allen Jr.’s hands as much as possible in its final four regular-season games. It resulted in Allen Jr. running for more than 100 yards each game and securing the Orange’s second consecutive bowl game appearance.

“When he’s on the field, he’s like beast mode,” SU wide receiver Umari Hatcher said of Allen Jr. “He really just snaps out of it. All the playing, all the joking, nah. He just turns into a beast.”

Despite his breakout season, Allen Jr. was unsure if he’d return to SU. According to Hammond, other schools were trying to get Allen Jr. to enter the transfer portal and he considered doing so.

Before deciding, Allen Jr. waited for Syracuse to hire a new head coach. Shortly after Brown took over on Nov. 28, 2023, Allen Jr. met with him and was sold on remaining with the Orange.

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Since then, Brown has completely revamped SU’s offense. He brought in transfer quarterback Kyle McCord while upgrading the offensive line and receiving core.

The one constant through it all? Allen Jr. is in the backfield.

As he continues maturing in his junior year, Allen Jr. has the opportunity to cement himself among the best running backs in Syracuse history. To sit alongside program legends like Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, Allen Jr.’s biggest advantage comes from staying true to himself.

Off the field, Allen Jr.’s infectious personality ignites those around him. But once he steps on the field, he’s ready to run through anyone and anything in his way.

“That’s gonna give me the edge, being who I am,” Allen Jr. said.

Published on September 5, 2024 at 12:56 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon