Armando Allen, Jr. (born April 30, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played professionally for two seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He was signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2011. Allen played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

. He was the Running Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for

Charleston Southern University Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private Baptist university in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention ( Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern University was ch ...

from 2019-2021. Allen previously held the position of assistant coach at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

Early years

Allen played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School , motto_translation = ''Work Conquers All'' , streetaddress = 7977 West 12th Avenue , city = Hialeah , state = Florida , zipcode = 33014 , country = United States , coordinates = , type = Pub ...

in Hialeah, Florida. A preseason fractured fibula ended his 2006 senior season before it ever began. However, he rushed for 1,095 yards and 12 touchdowns as junior in 2005, despite missing three games to injury. He was selected for 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio but did not participate because of his injury. Considered a four-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', Allen was listed as the No. 2 all-purpose back in the nation. He chose Notre Dame over offers from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

College career

As a freshman, he started 4 games in which he recorded a team-best 1,176 all-purpose yards, averaging 98.0 yards per game. He was the second-leading rusher on the team with 348 yards on 86 carries. As a sophomore in 2008, he started 8 games in which he led the Irish in rushing with 585 yards on 134 carries (4.4 avg) and added three touchdowns. He also ranked second on the team with 50 receptions and tallied 355 receiving yards and two touchdowns. As a junior, he only played in 8 games (7 starts) because of injury, but he was still able to lead the Irish in rushing for second straight season with 697 yards and three touchdowns on 142 carries. In his final season as a senior, playing in only 8 games due to a hip injury, ranked second on the team in rushing with 514 yards on 107 carries (4.8) and added two touchdowns. He finished his 4-year career at Notre Dame rushing for 2144 yards on 469 carries (4.6 Avg) and 8 touchdowns. He lived up to the hype as being an all-purpose back, by recording 4337 all-purpose yards, which is 5th most in school history. He graduated with a degree in sociology.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Allen was signed by the

as an

on July 27, 2011. However, he was waived during final cuts on September 3.

Chicago Bears

Allen was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 5, 2011. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19. Allen made his debut on Christmas Day against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and rushed for 40 yards on 11 carries. Allen lost the third running back battle to Lorenzo Booker, and was waived on August 31, 2012. Allen scored his first career touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 7, 2012, the longest touchdown run by a Bears player since Matt Forte's 68-yard run in 2010. Though he became an exclusive rights free agent in 2013, Allen signed his tender on March 28. He was released on August 30, 2013.

References

External links

Notre Dame bio

ESPN.com bio

Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Armando 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Florida American football running backs Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Chicago Bears players Texas Southern Tigers football coaches