Kyle Allen is feeling at home both in Houston and in the Texans offense. Allen, who finished his collegiate career at the University of Houston in 2017, made his Texans debut last week against the Los Angeles Rams. The fifth-year veteran entered the game in the second half, leading the offense on two scoring drives, a touchdown pass and field goal, of his three offensive series.
"I've been itching to play in the preseason and I was bummed to miss that first game," Allen said. "So that whole week I was kind of itching and ready to go, so it was really nice to get out there and have some success out there. It was good to get Teagan that touchdown and just good to see the offense kind of move with all three guys in there too."
Getting familiar with OC Pep Hamilton's offense has been a bit of an adjustment, Allen admits. His experience comes from playing in a West Coast offense under Scott Turner, Norv Turner's son. Scott Turner served as Allen's QBs coach during his two seasons (2018-19) with the Carolina Panthers. The duo reunited in Washington in 2020 when Allen was traded and Turner was named offensive coordinator under Ron Rivera.
"I mean, it is different," Allen said. "I spent four years in Norv Turner West Coast system, you know, with Scott Turner, his son, too. A lot of it my time has been that and this offense is a lot different than that. So there was a little bit of adjustment period over the summer. I think probably after a month I started to feel more and more comfortable and now being out here for a whole training camp, I feel really good about it and it's been good. I've found success in it. I feel like I'm understanding it and I like it a lot."
With Davis Mills entering his second season and the starter for Houston, Allen has a vision for his role once regular season starts. Allen has started 17 of 21 games he has appeared in over four seasons with Carolina and Washington.
"It's just helping him feel the most prepared for games," Allen said. "I remember when I was playing, I had Alex Smith as my backup in Washington when he was recovering from his leg injury, and he always made me feel incredibly prepared for games. He always was there helping me, making sure every look was covered over, and he'd been through it. So hopefully I can kind of help Davis with that and make sure he feels fully prepared for the games."
The Texans will close out their preseason at home against the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Amazon Prime and FOX-26 locally in Houston.
