Growing up, Otis Allen was not a fan of football. The Allen family was gifted athletically, but nobody in the family had grown up playing football or being involved in it whatsoever. In his more formative years Otis was very interested in professional wrestling. Wrestling was topical to his athletic career as a wrestler in middle school and junior high, but he also loved the drama and the fanfare that professional wrestling brought. Seeing larger-than-life characters play out these intricate storylines was fascinating to Otis, and he spent his days impersonating the wrestlers he saw on TV, pretending to be in wrestling feuds with his friends and having bouts on the playground.
It wasn't until his high school years when Otis began his career as a track and field star that he learned about Lawrence Okoye. Okoye was not a professional wrestler, but was a discus thrower who would eventually play in the NFL. Allen's career path would eventually become quite similar to Okoye's ( besides some differences in personal issues ), which led Allen to see Okoye as quite an inspiration. During Allen's switch from track and field to football during his freshman year of college, he was often quite hard on himself for not being at the level of technical talent that his peers were. Riding the bench was unfamiliar to Allen who had been a star throughout college, so having Okoye's story in the back of his mind to help him remember that a switch like this was possible was very reassuring for Otis.
It wasn't until his high school years when Otis began his career as a track and field star that he learned about Lawrence Okoye. Okoye was not a professional wrestler, but was a discus thrower who would eventually play in the NFL. Allen's career path would eventually become quite similar to Okoye's ( besides some differences in personal issues ), which led Allen to see Okoye as quite an inspiration. During Allen's switch from track and field to football during his freshman year of college, he was often quite hard on himself for not being at the level of technical talent that his peers were. Riding the bench was unfamiliar to Allen who had been a star throughout college, so having Okoye's story in the back of his mind to help him remember that a switch like this was possible was very reassuring for Otis.