Kenny Allen (American football)

Kenny Allen
Michigan Wolverines No. 5
Position Placekicker, Punter
Class Senior
Career history
College
High school Fenton (MI)
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-07-08) July 8, 1994
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 222 lb (101 kg)
Career highlights and awards

Kenneth Arthur Allen (July 8, 1994) is an American football placekicker and punter. He is currently the starting placekicker and punter for the 2016 Michigan Wolverines football team.

Early years

Allen was born in 1994.[1] His father is from Korea where he played college soccer.[2] He attended Fenton High School in Fenton, Michigan. As a high school kicker, he was ranked as the No. 2 punter and No. 13 placekicker in the country by Rivals.com.[3]

University of Michigan

Despite receive scholarship offers from multiple schools, Allen chose to enroll at the University of Michigan in 2012 as a preferred walk on. He was given a scholarship in 2015.[2][4]

During the 2015 season, Allen became Michigan's starting placekicker while Blake O'Neill handled punting duties. In the opening game against Utah, Allen kicked a field goal for the first points of the Jim Harbaugh era. His kickoff against Utah was also the first field goal made by an African-American kicker in Big Ten history.[5] Allen converted eight of ten field goal attempts and 25 of 25 point after touchdown (PAT) attempts. He also secured touchbacks on 22 of 46 kickoffs.[1][6][7]

During the 2016 season, Allen is Michigan's starter as a punter and a placekicker, handling kickoffs and field goals.[7][8][9] On September 10, 2016, he scored a career high 13 points in a game on three field goals and five PATs.[10] Allen was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for the week ending October 31, 2016. Allen made field goals from 23, 23 and 45-yards on October 29, setting a new season-long, and also hit all three PAT tries to total 12 of Michigan's 32 points in its nine-point win over Michigan State for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Allen also kicked off six times with three touchbacks and a 64.2-yard average and punted three times for 122 yards, landing one inside the 20-yard line.[11] During the 2016 season, Allen was second in the league with a 42.6-yard average, punting 46 times for 1,961 yards with 20 punts inside the opposition's 20-yard line and 14 punts of 50 yards or better. He has converted his last 12 field goal attempts, the third-longest streak in school history, and has converted 16-of-20 field goals this season.[12] Following the 2016 season, Allen was named to the All-Big Ten special teams second-team, by both the coaches and media.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Kenny Allen Bio". Mgoblue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Mark Snyder (September 16, 2015). "U-M kicker turned down scholarships, then earned one". Detroit Free Press.
  3. ↑ Greg Tunnicliff (September 23, 2011). "A Michigan Man: Fenton's Kenny Allen commits to play football at Michigan". The Flint Journal.
  4. ↑ Brendan F. Quinn (September 15, 2015). "Now Michigan kicker Kenny Allen has a scholarship and a chance". Mlive.com.
  5. ↑ Jojo Girard (September 4, 2016). "First Three Points In The Harbaugh Era Carry Unexpected Historical Significance". WFGR.
  6. ↑ Mark Snyder (January 7, 2016). "Looks like Allen back for another season as U-M kicker". Detroit Free Press.
  7. 1 2 Jacob Gase (August 31, 2016). "Michigan "more than comfortable" with Allen kicking all three phases". The Michigan Daily.
  8. ↑ Angelique S. Chengelis (September 10, 2016). "Michigan's Allen is rare kicker as triple threat". The Detroit News.
  9. ↑ Mark Snyder (September 8, 2016). "No punts, no problem for Michigan football's Kenny Allen". Detroit Free Press.
  10. ↑ "Postgame Notes: #5 Michigan 51, Central Florida 14". Mgoblue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Awards & Honors: Allen, Peppers Earn National Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Peppers, Lewis Lead All 11 Defenders Honored by B1G". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ "2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners" (PDF). www.grfx.cstv.com. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
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