Need To Know! Cardinals’ New Rb Tyler Allgeier

The Arizona Cardinals are knee deep in the free agency period. Usually, the first day will bring in a splash or two, and also a lot of whispers, cheers, and doubts.

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort earns a huge portion of his paycheck during these first three days. On Day 1, he inked RB Tyler Allgeier, a huge need for the franchise.

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The Cardinals hired an offensive guy to be their head coach this year in Mike LaFleur. He came from the Los Angeles Rams which is deep into the West Coast offense. That is what everyone in the desert is expecting the Cardinals to look like going forward.

Well, in order to accomplish this, the offense needs a very good offensive line, capable QBs, reliable receivers, two excellent tight ends, and stud running backs.

James Conner recently restructured his contract, and now Ossenfort has signed Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier.

Who is he? What does he offer the offense?

Beginnings

Allgeier (pronounced al-jeer) grew up in Fontana, California, and attended Kaiser High School. He classifies himself as Caucasian and Filipino. Which means he knows how to roll lumpia and probably makes great pancit.

Fontana is about an hour east of Los Angeles, with a population of around 200,000. Two interstates and one major state road intersect at Fontana, so it is considered a trucking hub with so many truck stops available.

Allgeier was raised by a single mother, Ester. He played RB and was a three-year starter. His high school career numbers are 34 starts with 5,086 yards on 614 carries, an 8.3 yards per carry average, 149.6 yards per game average, and scored 56 touchdowns. He also had 41 receptions for 355 yards with an additional four scores. He also played some defense. Upon graduation, he was the school’s all-time leading rusher. He was voted All-CIF.

Despite his good stats, he had only one offer, and that wasn’t even a full ride with Southern Nazarene, a D-2 program in Oklahoma. His high school coach talked to college scouts who stated that Allgeier was either too stiff or too slow. Then BYU offered him a preferred walk-on spot. True walk-ons earn a spot on the roster after a tryout. A preferred walk-on is guaranteed to be on the team as long as he follows the rules and produces. Neither is on scholarship, but can earn a scholarship later.

Allgeier’s high school coach, Bill Cardosi, told Darnell Dickson of the Daily Herald:

“We have a saying at Kaiser. It goes, ‘We, not me.’ That’s the mentality of always doing what’s best for your team, and that’s what Tyler did. We know how it worked at BYU with missions. There were no scholarships available, not yet. Tyler knew he would have to earn everything. That’s where greatness is built, when you’re doubted. It’s a driving force for a lot of athletes. I told him to work hard, stay humble, and be great. Sometimes it’s going to be worse before it gets better.”

Because of this bumpy road, Allgeier learned to remain humble and became a driving force. Before going to BYU, he worked at the local Walmart as the cart corral guy. His mom took out loans to pay his tuition. He worked hard, showed up early, and stayed late. His college career kind of started that way. He became a gym rat.

As a freshman, he had nine rushes for 49 yards and played in four games. He also returned two kickoffs. BYU moved him to linebacker for his sophomore campaign. He had 19 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble, and played in all 13 games. He also returned two kickoffs.

The defensive move was temporary as the coaching staff flipped him back to running back for his junior year. He responded with 1,130 yards on 150 carries with 13 touchdowns. He also had a 7.5 yards per carry average, which was a career high.

In his senior year, he busted out for 1,601 yards on 276 carries with 23 TDs, a 5.8 average per attempt, and caught 28 balls for 199 yards. He was named Second Team All-American, was the Independence Bowl MVP, and was named the NCAA rushing touchdowns co-leader. BYU was an independent, so no conference accolades were issued. In the 31-28 loss to UAB in the Independence Bowl, Allgeier scored three touchdowns with 192 yards on 27 carries.  

That 2021 season also had an Allgeier highlight.

BYU would end this season 10-2-0 after going 11-1-0 the year before. In Week 3 of Allgeier’s senior season, the pass rush of Arizona State was fierce. QB Jaren Hall was in the grasp of DE Michael Matus. Hall attempted to hit a receiver, but instead, LB Merlin Robertson intercepted the ball, who had nothing but green in front of him.

As Robertson approached the 40-yard line, two BYU offensive guys could be seen giving up chase. But then, a white jersey with the number 25 is seen coming on hard. And gaining. It is Allgeier. He catches up at the 17-yard line, jumps on Robertson, and in the process punches the ball out as a BYU teammate recovers the loose ball. No pick-six. No great field position. No loss of possession either.

After the game, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake stated:

“It doesn’t surprise anybody on this team or anybody around the program that knows this young man. Tyler is much faster than people give him credit for. Most people would go to make the tackle, and this guy comes out of nowhere. It’s a good thing he can punch on target because if it were a little bit higher, it would not be a good thing for us. He’ll do whatever it takes for the team. I feel like we have a bunch of guys on this team that would be willing to do that. It was his time to make the play, and hopefully we can keep relying on big-time plays and effort like that.”

And did Allgeier stand up and raise his arms in triumph? Did he take off his helmet as the nearest TV camera approached? Did he taunt the fallen linebacker? Did he run into the end zone and pantomime pulling back his chest jersey to reveal a Superman emblem?

None of this happened. Allgeier simply got up and walked back to the sideline.

All in a day’s work.

On to the NFL

At the NFL Combine, Allgeier ran a 4.6 in the 40, had a vertical jump of 33”, did 10’-0” in the broad jump, and benched 225 pounds 21 reps.

In 2021, the Falcons had just gone 7-10-0 with Cordarrelle Patterson as their leading rusher with just 618 yards. The franchise ranked #31 in rushing. Atlanta had the #8 pick in the 2022 college draft and selected WR Drake London. Allgeier was taken in the fifth round to help with the anemic rushing attack.

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He played in 16 games and ended the season with 1,035 yards on 210 carries with 53 first down conversions and three TDs. He also had 16 receptions for 139 yards and another score. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team as the Falcons again finished 7-10-0.

For Allgeier (5’-10”, 225 pounds), things looked promising. He was the starting running back for an NFL team and had led them in rushing yardage. From being offered a half scholarship to preferred walk-on to now being the bellcow for a club in the NFL. He had finally made it.

The Falcons again had the #8 draft pick. Quarterbacks Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson all went in the top four picks. The Las Vegas Raiders were on the clock at pick #7 and needed a running back. Bijan Robinson of Texas was still on the board. But the Raiders took DE Tyree Wilson instead. With Atlanta next, they selected Robinson.

Allgeier found out rather quickly that in the NFL, things can be fleeting. In a single moment, with a grown man holding an index card standing at a podium, uttering a single sentence, Allgeier went from a starting running back who was voted to the NFL All-Rookie Team to RB2. All those blocks on a blitzing safety, or the YAC struggles, or eclipsing the 1,000-yard plateau, all of it meant little. The Falcons were bringing in a stallion.

And if you believe that after the Falcons drafted Robinson so high in the draft, that this basically placed Allgeier in the recycle bin, you are partially correct. It has stifled him. In the next three years, his production was 683 yards, 644 yards, and 514 yards. His carries dropped from 210 in his rookie year to 186, 137, and 143. He became a very good back to an afterthought.

The Cardinals are hoping that he has the drive to come in and become the starter if Conner is unable to, or to unseat Conner and become the bellcow that he is.

Allgeier has been dating his high school sweetheart, Danielle Rogers, and now maybe it will be a wedding in the desert? His Instagram is @_ty.allgeier, his X is @tylerallgeier25, and his Tik Tok is @tylerallgeierenjoyer.