From OnlineAthens.com
May 30th, 2016 10:07 AM
Asher Allen admits there’s still times when he has thought about returning to the game he gave up.
That’s natural, says the former Georgia cornerback who retired from the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings four years ago on May 30, 2012.
“You’ve done it your whole life,” he said.
There’s a certain routine to being a football player with practices, meetings and games, but Allen says there’s not a typical day for him now.
At 28 years old now, Allen stays plenty busy with working out, bible study, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
Allen grew up in Stone Mountain but he and his wife Brittany, who went to Tucker High with him, still live in Eden Prairie, a city southwest of Minneapolis that was named in 2010 by Money magazine as the best place to live in America.
“We enjoy the area and the friends we made there,” Allen said. “For now, we’re still there. That’s probably the craziest thing. A lot of people say, ‘You’re from Georgia. What are you doing here? Are you crazy or something?’”
Actually, Allen says the frigid winters when the lakes freeze are tough for a “Southern boy,” but spring, summer and fall in Minnesota “is one of the best kept secrets in America. It’s beautiful, no humidity and we do a lot of fishing out there.”
Allen turned down an interview request five months after his retirement but agreed this time.
He was in Florida visiting family when he spoke by phone.
Two factors seemed to contribute to his leaving the game.
His health — including two concussions with the Vikings — and his faith.
He’s still reluctant to talk about his retirement at the age of 24. That’s the same age that first-round linebacker Leonard Floyd from Georgia will be when he plays his first NFL game.
“We kind of have some things going on right now that probably would make that conversation part not really the best thing,” Allen said.
It’s unclear if Allen was referring to possible litigation.
Allen sustained a concussion in 2010 and again in 2011, according to reports during those seasons.
“Any football player, they have their share of concussions,” he said. “Those are some that were reported.”
Allen walked away from the game, one that paid him rather well — a reported 4-year, $2.475 million contract for a player taken in the third round. He had 134 tackles and four interceptions in the NFL and started nine of 12 games played.
“When he retired, I knew it was definitely more than just football,” former Georgia defensive back and teammate Bryan Evans said. “There had to be definitely something that went along with it. From where that goes, those concussions contributed.”
Allen called playing in the NFL a “dream” when he left Georgia after the 2008 season. He was overshadowed by two other Georgia underclassmen who declared that January: quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, who went No. 1 and 12 overall in the NFL draft.
Then he abruptly retired after three seasons, a decision that then Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said at the time he didn’t see coming.
“I was shocked,” said Robby Gilbert, a 16-year assistant coach at Tucker who has known Allen since he was an eighth grader. “I remember specifically when I heard the news and saw it on my phone. I was on the bus on the way to the 2012 baseball state championship series. … I knew he had some issues health-wise. I immediately texted him and said, Hey, man, is everything OK?’ He was like, ‘Coach I’m good. It was just a decision I made with me and my wife. It’s just what’s best for me right now.’”
Gilbert later spoke to Allen and feels religion may have played a bigger role than concussions.
“He was going in a different direction in his life and that’s definitely what he wanted to take on at this moment,” Gilbert said.
Allen and his wife are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They volunteer in bible study in the community.
“I was raised in a Christian household but never did anything with it,” he said. “Once I got to Minnesota, I began studying the bible and then that’s where I learned about it.”
Allen said it “was natural for some to be shocked,” by his decision to retire. “For those that were close to me, they understood that.”
In 2013, Allen told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that concussions were “part of the equation” of why he retired and he “got out of bed differently.”
Now he said, “I think any player would agree with that. That’s just part of the game.”
A game that Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley last week called “a violent game that I personally don't think humans are supposed to play." He later walked back those comments saying “football is a physical game and injuries are a part of it."
Besides concussions, Allen’s NFL injuries included to his shoulder, abdomen, toe and foot.
“But he was tough and he was physical,” Gilbert said. “That’s one thing that can never be knocked about him or a lot of our kids who were undersized, they worked extremely hard in high school and put themselves physically in a great situation to prepare themselves for the next level. I know he did the same when he was at Georgia.”
Allen said he keeps in touch with former Georgia teammates Reshad Jones, CJ Byrd, Prince Miller, Mike Moore, Ricardo Crawford, Akeem Dent and Evans, especially through social media. He gets back to Georgia about once a month and spent time with former Georgia wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi when he was in town in Minnesota.
“You know Georgia boys don’t go above Tennessee, so whenever they go above Tennessee they try to come through,” he said.
Asher and Brittany live with a black dog — a Double Doodle, a mix of a Goldendoodle and a Labradoodle — that Allen considered calling call Uga but went with Captain.
“I try to indoctrinate all of Minnesota with Georgia stuff, man,” Allen said.
He says he watches every Georgia game “religiously,” on TV including the G-Day spring game in April.
“Put a big, ‘Go Dawgs,’” he said. “I’m talking an 85 font. All bold and highlighted. I’m telling you. If you could see my house, it’s Georgia everything.”
Allen hopes to open a gym to train athletes and continue to focus on nutrition.
“I went to school for that, so sort of putting that to work,” he said.
Allen majored in health promotion and behavior at Georgia but hasn’t finished up his undergraduate studies. He left after three college seasons to jump to the NFL.
He is certified as a personal trainer and in CrossFit, and works out four to five times a week.
“I love wine,” he said. “I would love to do something in the culinary world.”
Since retiring, he wrote a quarterly blog for the Midwest Dairy Association, including sharing a recipe for breakfast burritos.
“It was a little different for him to remove himself from the game but I think ever since he’s removed himself from the game, I think he’s done a great job of acclimating himself to the real world so to speak,” said Byrd, the former Georgia safety who now works for Chick-fil-A as a partnerships and activations consultant.
Asked how his health is now, Allen said: “Awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think there’s just some things that you can’t shake off from playing football since you were a kid. Just trying to take every day one day at a time.”
Allen may have been ahead of the curve of NFL players retiring earlier than they likely would have a decade before when there was less awareness about the long-term effects of concussions.
That list now includes San Francisco linebackers Chris Borland and Patrick Willis, Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson and New England linebacker Jerod Mayo.
Evans, who works in medical sales in his hometown of Jacksonville, said he can remember himself having three concussions during a football career that included playing in the CFL, UFL and the Arena league. He said he stopped playing because he had two herniated discs in his neck that caused constant headaches and he still periodically has them.
“I think people are getting educated on the effects of football,” Allen said. “I think they pray about it and try to think about, ‘OK, where am I going to be in X amount of years and try to make the best decision for themselves.”
Allen was making a good living financially but he said it’s what you determine is good living.
“I have my family, I have food, I have shelter and water,” Allen said. “So I’m pretty happy.”
...READ MORE HERE...
May 30th, 2016 10:07 AM
Asher Allen admits there’s still times when he has thought about returning to the game he gave up.
That’s natural, says the former Georgia cornerback who retired from the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings four years ago on May 30, 2012.
“You’ve done it your whole life,” he said.
There’s a certain routine to being a football player with practices, meetings and games, but Allen says there’s not a typical day for him now.
At 28 years old now, Allen stays plenty busy with working out, bible study, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
Allen grew up in Stone Mountain but he and his wife Brittany, who went to Tucker High with him, still live in Eden Prairie, a city southwest of Minneapolis that was named in 2010 by Money magazine as the best place to live in America.
“We enjoy the area and the friends we made there,” Allen said. “For now, we’re still there. That’s probably the craziest thing. A lot of people say, ‘You’re from Georgia. What are you doing here? Are you crazy or something?’”
Actually, Allen says the frigid winters when the lakes freeze are tough for a “Southern boy,” but spring, summer and fall in Minnesota “is one of the best kept secrets in America. It’s beautiful, no humidity and we do a lot of fishing out there.”
Allen turned down an interview request five months after his retirement but agreed this time.
He was in Florida visiting family when he spoke by phone.
Two factors seemed to contribute to his leaving the game.
His health — including two concussions with the Vikings — and his faith.
He’s still reluctant to talk about his retirement at the age of 24. That’s the same age that first-round linebacker Leonard Floyd from Georgia will be when he plays his first NFL game.
“We kind of have some things going on right now that probably would make that conversation part not really the best thing,” Allen said.
It’s unclear if Allen was referring to possible litigation.
Allen sustained a concussion in 2010 and again in 2011, according to reports during those seasons.
“Any football player, they have their share of concussions,” he said. “Those are some that were reported.”
Allen walked away from the game, one that paid him rather well — a reported 4-year, $2.475 million contract for a player taken in the third round. He had 134 tackles and four interceptions in the NFL and started nine of 12 games played.
“When he retired, I knew it was definitely more than just football,” former Georgia defensive back and teammate Bryan Evans said. “There had to be definitely something that went along with it. From where that goes, those concussions contributed.”
Allen called playing in the NFL a “dream” when he left Georgia after the 2008 season. He was overshadowed by two other Georgia underclassmen who declared that January: quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno, who went No. 1 and 12 overall in the NFL draft.
Then he abruptly retired after three seasons, a decision that then Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said at the time he didn’t see coming.
“I was shocked,” said Robby Gilbert, a 16-year assistant coach at Tucker who has known Allen since he was an eighth grader. “I remember specifically when I heard the news and saw it on my phone. I was on the bus on the way to the 2012 baseball state championship series. … I knew he had some issues health-wise. I immediately texted him and said, Hey, man, is everything OK?’ He was like, ‘Coach I’m good. It was just a decision I made with me and my wife. It’s just what’s best for me right now.’”
Gilbert later spoke to Allen and feels religion may have played a bigger role than concussions.
“He was going in a different direction in his life and that’s definitely what he wanted to take on at this moment,” Gilbert said.
Allen and his wife are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They volunteer in bible study in the community.
“I was raised in a Christian household but never did anything with it,” he said. “Once I got to Minnesota, I began studying the bible and then that’s where I learned about it.”
Allen said it “was natural for some to be shocked,” by his decision to retire. “For those that were close to me, they understood that.”
In 2013, Allen told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that concussions were “part of the equation” of why he retired and he “got out of bed differently.”
Now he said, “I think any player would agree with that. That’s just part of the game.”
A game that Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley last week called “a violent game that I personally don't think humans are supposed to play." He later walked back those comments saying “football is a physical game and injuries are a part of it."
Besides concussions, Allen’s NFL injuries included to his shoulder, abdomen, toe and foot.
“But he was tough and he was physical,” Gilbert said. “That’s one thing that can never be knocked about him or a lot of our kids who were undersized, they worked extremely hard in high school and put themselves physically in a great situation to prepare themselves for the next level. I know he did the same when he was at Georgia.”
Allen said he keeps in touch with former Georgia teammates Reshad Jones, CJ Byrd, Prince Miller, Mike Moore, Ricardo Crawford, Akeem Dent and Evans, especially through social media. He gets back to Georgia about once a month and spent time with former Georgia wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi when he was in town in Minnesota.
“You know Georgia boys don’t go above Tennessee, so whenever they go above Tennessee they try to come through,” he said.
Asher and Brittany live with a black dog — a Double Doodle, a mix of a Goldendoodle and a Labradoodle — that Allen considered calling call Uga but went with Captain.
“I try to indoctrinate all of Minnesota with Georgia stuff, man,” Allen said.
He says he watches every Georgia game “religiously,” on TV including the G-Day spring game in April.
“Put a big, ‘Go Dawgs,’” he said. “I’m talking an 85 font. All bold and highlighted. I’m telling you. If you could see my house, it’s Georgia everything.”
Allen hopes to open a gym to train athletes and continue to focus on nutrition.
“I went to school for that, so sort of putting that to work,” he said.
Allen majored in health promotion and behavior at Georgia but hasn’t finished up his undergraduate studies. He left after three college seasons to jump to the NFL.
He is certified as a personal trainer and in CrossFit, and works out four to five times a week.
“I love wine,” he said. “I would love to do something in the culinary world.”
Since retiring, he wrote a quarterly blog for the Midwest Dairy Association, including sharing a recipe for breakfast burritos.
“It was a little different for him to remove himself from the game but I think ever since he’s removed himself from the game, I think he’s done a great job of acclimating himself to the real world so to speak,” said Byrd, the former Georgia safety who now works for Chick-fil-A as a partnerships and activations consultant.
Asked how his health is now, Allen said: “Awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think there’s just some things that you can’t shake off from playing football since you were a kid. Just trying to take every day one day at a time.”
Allen may have been ahead of the curve of NFL players retiring earlier than they likely would have a decade before when there was less awareness about the long-term effects of concussions.
That list now includes San Francisco linebackers Chris Borland and Patrick Willis, Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson and New England linebacker Jerod Mayo.
Evans, who works in medical sales in his hometown of Jacksonville, said he can remember himself having three concussions during a football career that included playing in the CFL, UFL and the Arena league. He said he stopped playing because he had two herniated discs in his neck that caused constant headaches and he still periodically has them.
“I think people are getting educated on the effects of football,” Allen said. “I think they pray about it and try to think about, ‘OK, where am I going to be in X amount of years and try to make the best decision for themselves.”
Allen was making a good living financially but he said it’s what you determine is good living.
“I have my family, I have food, I have shelter and water,” Allen said. “So I’m pretty happy.”
...READ MORE HERE...
