Matt and Shannon Allen recently had their lives changed from what was already hectic between Matt being a senior wide receiver and a local LDS ward bishopric as they welcomed a new member into their family.
This two-time Arizona high school state champion high jumper is now the proud father of a nine-month-old son, Crew.
"Since Crew has been born it has changed things for this football season because when you go to games you are torn between being a mom and being supportive of your husband," Shannon said. "Crew is great at practices. He loves going there although games have proven to be a little too much, but Crew just adores his dad."
Matt Allen has proven his worth to the BYU football team over the last three seasons and for that has been honored this year as one of the team captains. Numerous things in his life have helped shape him into the happy, easy going, laughing person he is today. His family, ranging all the way from his parents and siblings to his wife and son, has always been an instrumental part of his success.
GETTING STARTED
Matt was very involved in extracurricular activities while he attended Cactus High School in Peoria, Ariz. Not only did he play football but he also played basketball and participated in track.
It may be surprising to learn that Matt did not play tackle football before he was in high school. It did not take long, however, for his presence to be felt as he landed a spot on the varsity team in his second season as a sophomore returning punts and kicks and playing receiver.
"I was always active growing up but my mom would not let me play tackle football," Matt said. "So the first time that I played organized football was when I was in junior high and that was flag football. My first year of tackle football was in the ninth grade."
Eventually his mom got over the fear of her son playing tackle football enough to allow him to play but that is not to say that she still doesn't worry about him even today.
"We did not allow them to play tackle football until they were older because I did not want them to," Matt's mom Rebecca recalls. "I really don't like to see him get hit. I value his brain! I still pray everyday for him specifically that he won't get seriously injured."
Matt is the fourth of five children in his family. His only brother is Michael, is five years older than him. Michael played wide receiver at Mesa Community College and was really the one who laid the ground work for Matt to take on that position.
"I know that Matt kind of followed my footsteps in being a wide receiver but I honestly choose that position because I was too skinny to play any thing else," Michael said.
While in high school Matt found success in track similar to what he was able to do in football. Although he is an even six feet, Matt was a two-time Arizona high school track state champion in the high jump. He was undersized for that event but found ways to excel, jumping an amazing 6-foot-10-inch as a senior.
"My mom didn't love me playing football because she knew of the risks involved, but both she and my dad were always supportive of me in track, football or whatever I choose to do," Matt added.
GROWING UP
As Matt's high school career began to come to a close, he was faced with a tough decision to make as he was recruited by UNLV, San Diego State, BYU and Arizona State-- his local university.
He took recruiting trips to both SDSU and BYU and his high school quarterback committed to SDSU which made his decision even tougher knowing he could play at the next level with someone he was already familiar with. But Matt always knew where his heart belonged and eventually chose to become a Cougar.
"The decision on where I wanted to go to college was not easy, but BYU is just were I wanted to be," Matt said. "I am definitely glad I made this decision. It really changed my life for good."
But before Matt ever stepped foot on campus in Provo he was called to serve a two-year LDS mission. He was assigned to serve in the Apia, Samoa Mission. Within the first six months of arriving in Samoa, Matt remembers that he gained over 25 pounds because of how well fed he was by the members there. He quickly found some comfort in the first Sunday of every month when the LDS Church observes a monthly fast.
"The amount of food they gave us in each serving was just astronomical. It got to the point that I would look forward to fast Sunday because then I did not have to eat. It gave me a good excuse not to eat."
Toward the end of his two-year stint in Samoa, Matt tried his best to get back into shape with the limited amount of time and resources he had. He and his companion received permission to workout at a local gym. However, the gym they went to had very little equipment and most of the weights were made from concrete.
TRANSITIONING
It was not long after Matt returned home from his mission that he was able to get back to working out with the football team and go out on his first date. In fact, it only took him just under month to accomplish both of those things. And it just so happened that his first date in Provo proved to be something special.
Matt was set up by his aunt with Shannon Richter from Mesa, Ariz. On their first date they went to a comedy club in Provo.
"One of the very first things I realized with Matt when we first went out was just how happy he is," Shannon remembers. "I laughed so hard on our first date! It isn't that what we were watching that was so funny, but it was just that Matt's laugh is so contagious."
Both Shannon and Matt remember having a lot of fun with each other at the comedy club. After 12 months of dating, they tied the knot on exactly the same day of their first date a year earlier.
But as with all marriages, the first year did not come without a few surprises. One of the first was realized by Shannon. The year they were dating Matt was just a red-shirt freshman and, as a result, they were able to spend Friday nights around each other and go to all the home BYU football games together. This led Shannon to have a false sense of what the future held for the two of them.
"He tricked me after that first football season that we knew each other," Shannon said. "I knew that it would be different after that first season because he was not red shirting but I did not realize how big of a difference it would be. We went from this honeymoon state to this widow-like state during the football season."
Matt remembers how Shannon was somewhat disappointed with the decreased amount of time she got to spend with him during football season. Since then Shannon has adapted and, as a result, has gotten to know Matt's parents better from sitting
next to them during games.
SENIOR YEAR
Coming into the 2007 season, Matt will be looked to by his teammates to be a leader as one of the four team captains. In his 2006 campaign, Matt recorded three of his career highs: six receptions and 108 yards against Boston College and a career long 38-yard reception against Tulsa.
"Like always, we have the goal to win the conference championship," Matt remarked. "But we would ultimately like to build off of what we accomplished last season and make some more waves on the national level. We feel that we hold our destiny in our hands."
Matt complements teammates Austin Collie, Michael Reed and Bryce Mahuika who are all a part of the very talented Cougar wide receiver core with solid game experience before this season. Matt and the rest of the wide receivers have the goal to always contribute to the outcome of the game in whatever role the coaches ask.
One thing that the coaches have talked to the team about that really sticks out to Matt is when they have talked about consistency. Consistency is focused on by the coaches on many levels.
"One of the main things that the program is built on is consistence," Matt remarked. "Not just from week to week by from player to player and that does not exclude the coaches. That is something that I personally always strive for."
Although it is inevitable that the end of Matt's senior season will come, he said that he will always strive to keep the consistency the BYU coaches instilled in him. He will look back at his days when he was a Cougar football player with great fondness and especially for the people he has gotten to associate with.
Matt plans to continue his education by attending physical therapy school. He wants to work in pediatrics, specifically with children born with physical disabilities.
Wherever life takes this six-foot high-jumper and BYU football standout, he will bring along his easy-going, happy attitude that will surely make him a success.
"He is just great," his wife Shannon complemented. "I don't know of any other way I can say it. He is just a very unique person. He will be great at whatever he does. I am so lucky I got him."
Little Known Fact about Matt
If there is one thing that you would never
know about Matt Allen is the fact that he is
a surfer. Matt shares the love with his brother,
Michael. Their love for the coastal sport can
be drawn back to when, as kids, they would
spend as long as four months during a summer
in southern California.
"The first thing that I talk to Matt with is
always surfing," Michael said. "Even now I
don't talk a lot of football with him.
Anyone that knows Matt knows that he is
surf addict just like me."
The Allen brothers have taken their love of
surfing to such an extent that they take
part in a fantasy surfing league. Each team
in the league has eight professional surfers
and awarded points dependent on how well the
surfers do on their tour. According to
Michael, Matt is currently among the top
100 fantasy surf players in the country.
Shannon recalls that when she first met
Matt, she knew that he was a football
player but that wasn't the first sport
that he talked to her about. Rather, it
was surfing and how much he loves it.
"My sons are always talking about surfing,"
Rebecca Allen, mother of Matt and Michael
said. "Once you have the surf bug in you
it never leaves. Football is definitely
something that he loves but he would still
rather be surfing."
Recently Matt and Michael have convinced
their dad to take up surfing too. They both
agree it is more fun with him and also
helpful for funding their surfing excursions.
There is one other person that you may not
know is a surfer who is a part of the BYU
football team and that is Coach Mendenhall.
Matt and Coach Mendenhall can sometimes be
found on the football field talking about
surfing.