Iowa State tight ends Charlie Kolar, Chase Allen share stage at NFL combine

INDIANAPOLIS — As Charlie Kolar and Chase Allen stepped foot in the media interview room at the NFL combine, the Iowa State tight ends literally shared the stage together.

Kolar was at podium No. 2. Allen was at podium No. 6.

“I can see him over there,” Allen said. “He got a new haircut before he came in. I was happy to see that.”

The two draft prospects have figuratively been sharing the stage for a much longer time than the 30-minute interview session in a convention center ballroom.

Kolar and Allen have been staples of the Iowa State offense in recent years. They combined for 1,000 receiving yards in 2021 and at least 800 in the previous two seasons.

“If we’re playing another position like quarterback where there are two or three other really good players, only one can be on the field at the same time,” Allen said.

But Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell’s use of “12” and “13” personnel — meaning one running back and two or three tight ends allowed Kolar and Allen to often play on the field at the same time.

They both learned from Tom Manning, now the offensive coordinator at Iowa State who previously coached tight ends at the NFL level with the Indianapolis Colts.

“He brought back a wealth of knowledge of playing the tight end position, and especially at this next level,” Allen said. “Charlie and I benefited greatly from that.”

The tight ends have built a friendship that extends well beyond football.

“I can always know what he’s thinking by just looking at him,” Allen said. “If I hear what someone else says, I’m like, ‘Oh I know exactly what’s going through Charlie’s mind right now.’ And I can give him a little side-eye, and he’ll give me the same thing.”

Wednesday’s interviews acted as a quasi-case study in knowing what the other person was thinking.

When they were separately asked about a player who could be special in future years, they both thought of the same player — quarterback Hunter Dekkers.

Allen calls Kolar “Chucky Bear.” A former coach called him “Chuckles.”

“He hated it,” Allen said of the latter nickname.

Their friendship has been helpful as they engulf themselves in preparation for the draft, which will begin April 28.

“We’ve been on the phone a lot like, ‘Hey, what are your times looking like?’” Allen said. “Charlie and I played football a lot together, but what we’ve been doing the past few months isn’t really a lot of training for football. It’s been training for these drills.”

They’ll be competing against each other in the combine drills Thursday.

“But we’ve been competing against each other every day for the past four years,” Allen said. “So it’s nothing new to us, and we embrace it.”

As they compete for the draft, they don’t quite share the same projections.

A Cleveland.com mock draft in February projected Kolar to be a third-round pick. Allen, meanwhile, is expected to go later in the draft.

Each tight end has some specific goals and challenges this week.

Kolar said he wants to show he’s “more of a complete tight end” during the draft process.

While he was “mostly asked” to be a receiver at Iowa State, Kolar is confident he is a “really good and capable, willing blocker.”

Unfortunately for Allen, some of his bad luck at Iowa State — he was hit by a car and needed 103 stitches during his freshman year — carried over to the NFL combine.

Each player goes through a medical evaluation. It took a while for the staff to call Allen’s name — not because of any medical issue, but being the last person on the list.

“I was the last one at the hospital,” Allen said. “I think it’s karma because with my last name Allen, I’m usually at the front of the line. So I missed some opportunities to meet with teams last night because of that.”

Allen’s best friend knows how he will handle that adversity.

“Chase has some of the worst luck possible,” Kolar said. “He’s tough. He just keeps persevering.”

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