Golden Nuggets: Keenan Allen on nearly quitting football

WR Keenan Allen discusses going from the lows of a rigorous training camp and no play time to the highs of being a candidate for Rookie of the Year.

By Leland Wong Dec 29, 2013, 3:00am PST

WR Keenan Allen has had quite an unpredictable career. He went from being a god-level safety committed to perennial powerhouse Alabama to the ~~silver~~ golden lining as a wide receiver on disappointing Cal teams. He went from being projected as a first-round draft selection to being a third-round pick-up. He went from being a player who considered quitting the sport after struggling to survive training camp and riding the bench to becoming an offensive star and strong candidate for rookie of the year.

"Training camp was very hard for me. I wanted out, to be honest with you," Allen told Chargers reported Annie Heilbrunn in a recent interview. "I was down on myself. I actually called my mom and told her I didn't want to play anymore because I wanted to do music."

Things didn't get much better for Allen after training camp ended either. In the Chargers regular season opener against Houston, the rookie wide receiver didn't play one offensive snap.

"After I didn't play after that first game, I was about another snap away of not playing from quitting," Allen said, via U-T San Diego.

And what motherly wisdom did Allen receive (link also has some video interviews)?

"Patience," she said. "Patience."

And so Allen worked and waited. He prayed. He worked and waited and prayed.

And early in the season, his patience paid off. He got the opportunity in Week Two and never looked back. Now, Allen leads all rookies in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and is on his way to 1,000 yards on the season. He's been voted Rookie of the Week three times.

But with his musical skills, he probably would have just become a superstar in music...