WKU football running back Ajay Allen brings experience to backfield

“ I feel like Western Kentucky is just a great group to be around,” Allen said, “Coach (Tyson) Helton is probably one of the best head coaches I’ve been around so far. He’s all about business and I’m about business, and I think it’s a good shot for us.”

Allen joins WKU after one year with the Golden Hurricane. While there, he racked up 497 yards and a team-high five rushing touchdowns.

His new running backs coach, Bryan Applewhite, said he brings explosiveness and intelligence to the room.

“He’s got a lot of snaps and a lot of valuable experience to lead to that running back room, which is a relatively young running back room as far as playing time,” Applewhite said. “He does bring a lot of insight, and I see him in the back of the room coaching up all the guys about what to do in certain situations, especially situational football, and third downs and what to expect and all that. He’s been very valuable.”

As he enters his senior season, Allen is shaping up to be a major part of WKU’s offense, and wants this Hilltopper community to know what he’s all about.

“I’m just all about opportunities,” Allen said. “Take advantage of opportunity. That’s what I’ve learned as I’m getting older in my career. Take advantage of opportunities, come out every day, be the same guy and show the other guys how to compete.”

With Allen at the forefront, Applewhite is excited for what the entire running back room brings to the team, and coaches with the philosophy of you can’t build a dynasty without being nasty.

“We’ve got to be one of the nastiest position groups in the country for us to win,” Applewhite said. “That’s just the approach I take every day, and they’ve bought into it because tough still wins, and we’ve got to bring a level of toughness on every single play, a competitive toughness on every single play to the offense.”

Allen and the Hilltoppers open their season at Nevada on Saturday, September 5.