Brian Allen (born April 20, 1980) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Allen played for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, appearing as a kick returner. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, where he was a

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)#Offense ...

Early life

Brian Allen was born on April 20, 1980 in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

. He attended

Damien High School Damien High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in La Verne, in the U.S. state of California, named for Saint Damien of Molokai. It is located in and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, part of the tri-school ...

LaVerne, California La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,334 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The area was home to Native Americans. The European history of the area dates back to the ...

, where he was on the football and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

teams. On the Damien football team, Allen was a wingback in the team's wishbone offense and played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

on defense. As a senior, he had 70 carries for 950 yards and six touchdowns and 87 tackles and two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

on defense.

College career

Allen played football at Stanford from 1998 to 2001. In the 1998 season, Allen appeared in all 11 games as a true freshman, recording four starts. He finished the season with 76 carries for 154 rushing yards, five receptions for 19 yards, and eight kickoff returns for 136 yards. Stanford went 3-8 on the season. In 1999, Allen again appeared in all Cardinal games, starting the final six games of the season. He led Stanford in rushing with 115 attempts for 604 yards and four touchdowns. The Cardinal won the PAC-10 Conference and faced

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the 2000 Rose Bowl, losing 9-17. Stanford finished the season ranked #22 in the AP poll with an 8-4 record. As a junior in the 2000 season, Allen split running back duties with Kerry Carter. He finished second on the team in rushing with 117 carries for 460 yards and added 10 receptions for 105 yards. Stanford finished the year with a 5-6 record. In his senior season, Allen and the Cardinal rebounded. Allen led the team in rushing with 174 attempts for 899 yards and four touchdowns. Allen had four games with over 130 rushing yards, including a 133 yard and three touchdown performance against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. Stanford finished the year ranked #16 in the AP poll with a 9-3 record. They lost to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

in the 2001 Seattle Bowl.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Allen was selected by the

in the sixth round with the 204th overall selection of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. In August 2002, Allen sprained a ligament in his knee that required surgery. He missed the entire

2002 NFL season The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league went back to an even number of teams with the addition of the Houston Texans; the league has remained static with 32 teams since. The clubs were ...

, which he spent on the Colts'

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

list. On September 9, 2003, the Colts waived Allen and placed him on their practice squad. He was released from the practice squad on September 23, 2003, before being re-signed by the Colts on October 15, 2003. He appeared in five games that season, mainly on special teams. Allen was again released by the Colts on November 20, 2003. Allen was re-signed to the Colts' practice squad prior to the 2004 season. He underwent a second knee surgery prior to the season, and remained on the practice squad for the remainder of the year.

San Francisco 49ers

Allen was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

practice squad on November 2, 2005. He was released following the 2005 season.

Post-football career

After his NFL career, Allen worked as a corporate paralegal at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and as an investment banking analyst at WR Hambrecht + Co. At WR Hambrecht + Co, Allen worked on several transactions during his tenure, the most notable being the United Football League with William Hambrecht (

Hambrecht & Quist Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q) was an investment bank based in San Francisco, California noted for its focus on the technology and Internet sectors. H&Q was founded by Bill Hambrecht and George Quist in California, in 1968. H&Q was an early player i ...

). Allen works for

Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), owned by FMR LLC and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, provides financial services. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the ...

as a financial consultant. Allen currently resides in the

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

metro area with his wife and two children. In his free time, Allen is an avid fitness guru.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Brian 1980 births Living people Players of American football from Ontario, California American football running backs Stanford Cardinal football players Indianapolis Colts players San Francisco 49ers players Damien High School alumni