Tyler Allen begins his second season on John Grass’ staff after joining the Gamecocks in 2020. He serves as Jacksonville State’s quarterbacks coach.
His first season with the Gamecocks saw him lead a pair of All-Ohio Valley Conference signal callers in Zerrick Cooper and Zion Webb. Cooper, the incumbent to the position and an All-American in previous years, started the first four games of the season before an injury opened the door for Webb.
Webb took the reins and ran with them, earning First Team All-OVC honors at quarterback and leading the Gamecocks to the OVC title and the No. 4 National Seed in the FCS Playoffs.
Allen came to Jacksonville after spending the 2019 season at West Virginia as the quarterbacks graduate assistant. While working for head coach Neal Brown, Allen helped with everyday operations of the quarterback corps, was involved in on-campus recruiting and recruited the Louisiana area.
During his 2019 stop with the Mountaineers, WVU quarterbacks passed for 129 first downs, averaged 248.67 passing yards per game and totaled 21 passing touchdowns over the season. Starting quarterback Austin Kendall ranked 24th nationally and fourth in the Big 12 in completions per game (20.8).
Not a stranger to the state of Alabama, Allen was also the quarterbacks graduate assistant under Brown at Troy University the year prior. The 2018 season saw the Trojans post a 10-3 record and roll through the Sun Belt with a 7-1 mark to tie for first in the East. The Trojans went on to defeat Buffalo 42-32 at the Dollar General Bowl for school record fourth-straight bowl title. Troy quarterbacks passed for a total of 2,799 yards, 25 TDs and averaged 215.3 yards per game.
Allen made two more bowl game trips as a member of LSU’s coaching staff in 2016 and 2017. While serving as an offensive student assistant, Allen helped the Tigers to a 29-9 win over Louisville at the 2016 Citrus Bowl and a runner-up finish to Notre Dame at the 2017 Citrus Bowl. Allen worked closely with Tigers quarterback Danny Etling, who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Prior to beginning his coaching career, Allen spent two seasons as a student-athlete at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Following two seasons as a quarterback with the Bulldogs, Allen transferred to LSU where he received his degree in General Business with a minor in Personal Investment.
Allen is a 2013 graduate of St. Stanislaus High School in Bay St. Louis, Miss., where he was the varsity starting quarterback for his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. During his senior campaign, the shot-caller passed for 4,262 yards, rushed for another 862 yards and totaled 60 touchdowns – 49 through the air and 11 on the ground. Allen is a native of Long Beach, Miss.
