Chase Allen enjoying life in United Football League

MANSFIELD, Texas - Chase Allen is surrounded by plenty of familiar faces.

And Allen, 27, who played tight end for Iowa State from 2016 through 2021 and earned second-team All-Big 12 Conference recognition four times, couldn’t be happier.

“I’ve had an incredible experience so far. It speaks to the leadership, the core group of guys and the men that have been in this program that have made it successful,” Allen said during the first week of training camp for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League. “I’m lucky enough to have been able to play with some of them before like the Iowa State guys, Hakeem (Butler), Mike (Rose), Willie (Harvey) and it’s something really special they’ve got going on. We’re excited for the season.”

The Battlehawks opened the season on Friday with a 31-6 win over the Houston Roughnecks. Allen had one catch for 5 yards.

However, the ISU ties don’t end there as coaching the Battlehawks, who led the UFL in attendance last season (drawing more than 34,000 fans at home), is Anthony Becht, whose son, Rocco, is currently ISU’s starting quarterback.

“I went to the combine in 2022, and he was the liaison for all the tight ends.” Allen said. “He told us then that he still had some records at the combine and was giving us pointers.

“But I’ve really been able to grow my relationship with him. Since I was helping out coach (Matt Campbell) this past season at Iowa State, I got to be around his son. Having your head coach as your position coach, it’s a great deal and he’s certainly a wealth of knowledge.”

Becht also knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a successful tight end. He spent 11 seasons in the NFL with five different teams and the Battlehawks coach, who doubles as tight ends coach, sees plenty of upside in Allen.

“The best thing about Chase is he plays hard with great effort. He’s very smart,” Becht said. “He’s very coachable. Tell him to correct something, it gets corrected. In my room, especially with being a head coach coaching tight ends, I have a low tolerance for mistakes.

“I want to make sure I get guys in here that do it right. He knows how to prepare. He knows how to maintain his body. He’s a pro. He’s been in the league, had that dual starter tight end role at Iowa State. Played a lot of ball and that’s important. We just want guys that are smart and know how to play the game the right way to be a part of our camp.”

Last fall, Allen remained around the ISU program, an experience which only reinforced just how special his time at Ames was under Campbell.

“Coach Campbell is an incredible leader of men. I think the thing that really sticks for players once they go through that program is (the motto of) how you do anything is how you do everything,” said Allen, whose father, Terry, was a long-time UNI head coach and also coached at Kansas. “Cutting the corners and cheating the system is really just cheating yourself in the end and it’s not letting you reach your full potential.”

Allen also is enjoying sharing the practice field with another player with Iowa ties in Max Duggan, the talented quarterback from Council Bluffs who played about 20 miles up the road in Fort Worth and helped lead TCU to the CFP championship game in 2022.

“I tried to recruit Max to be a Cyclone back in the day and it (going to TCU instead) worked out for him,” Allen said. “He had a great career down here in Texas, but I’ve always looked up to and admired the way he plays the game and to be able to share the field with him has been incredible.

“I’ve been lucky enough to train this offseason with Mike Rose. He gave me a feel for what it was going to look like. Yeah, it’s been fun to be on the practice field with him.”

Something else which has defined him during his time in the game is being a coach’s kid, a rather unique experience for those who know what it’s like, but also something which he realizes has helped make him who he is on and off the field.

“My dad worked his tail off. Coach’s kids know that you have to share your dad with a bunch of other young men and that can be tough sometimes,” Allen said. “I was fortunate, my dad retired from coaching my junior year of high school, so he was able to be with me for a lot of the decisions that come with choosing a place to play in college, etc.

“I love him to death and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”

After graduating from ISU, Allen didn’t have to venture far for his first opportunity in the NFL. He signed with Chicago as a free agent. After being one of the Bears’ final cuts in August 2022, he landed a spot on their practice squad and made his NFL debut that season.

In August 2023, Allen was released by the Bears, a move which opened the door for him to give the UFL a shot, but he’ll forever be indebted to Chicago for giving him his first crack at the NFL.

“I absolutely loved Chicago. We didn’t win as many games as I wish we would have, but to get the opportunity to play on a Sunday, it was incredible,” he said. “I really cherish the relationships that I made there. There were some great people there and I wish them all the success coming forward.”

Allen grew up in Nixa, Mo., which is near Springfield, about three hours from St. Louis, so when he found out he would be playing for the Battlehawks, it was a nice full-circle moment for the native of the Show Me State.

“That is really cool. I had a lot of friends who were Rams fans growing up,” he said. “With the way that worked out (with the Rams moving back to Los Angeles), they were kind of in search of a new team. It’s been really cool, the people that I know have been BattleHawks fans and when I told them I got the opportunity here, I’m very proud to be able to represent the home state again.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas