The picture of Owen Allen didn’t literally spawn 1,000 words, but it points to why 1,000 yards is certainly in play.

In the portrait taken of the Air Force senior fullback this week by The Gazette photo editor Christian Murdock, Allen stands with his arms outstretched grasping a football in his right hand.

The posture seems to invite the upcoming season and the boundless potential for the senior. The smile expresses excitement and the vibe of someone totally comfortable in his own skin. There is youth, vigor, strength, optimism; the aura of someone who has waited for this moment and is going to attack it at full speed.

It’s 5-foot-11, 215 pounds of a dare to come and take your best shot. He’s ready for it.

“I think this is the most excited I’ve been for a football season,” Allen told The Gazette during spring practice. “Most likely my last one. I’m thrilled to have it be with this team and these coaches and all the guys coming back. I couldn’t be more excited to contribute more than I ever have before to achieve the goals that this team wants to accomplish.

“I want to run the (table against Army and Navy), I want to get (the Commander-in-Chief’s) Trophy back here. I want a 10-win season. I want to be a guy these younger guys can turn to.”

With practice underway, that picture he envisioned is starting to come into focus.

Allen’s background is worth rehashing. He ran for a monstrous 7,700 yards at Southlake Carroll High School in Texas, making him one of the most prolific runners in the football-rich state’s history.

He ran for 750 yards for Air Force last year as a junior, despite sharing time at the “superback” position. He went for 100-plus yards five times, including 192 at UNLV.

Air Force won three Mountain West games in 2025, and Allen eclipsed 100 yards rushing in all three.

Now the position is all his following the graduation of his old running mate Dylan Carson, and it’s a spot from which capable hands have reaped big rewards.

Brad Roberts led the nation in rushing with 1,728 yards in 2022. Emmanuel Michel ran for 203 yards and three touchdowns in the 2023 Armed Forces Bowl. Taven Birdow and Timothy Jackson combined for 1,584 yards during an 11-win 2019 season.

Air Force is at its best when the fullback position is churning out yards and first downs, and Allen brings as much talent as anyone the Falcons have had in the spot since it has evolved to its current form.

“Last year, he had an awesome year,” said tailback Rocco Conti, one of Allen’s best friends on the team. “This year he is going to carry that momentum and have an even better year. I’m super excited to watch him. He’s an explosive player. He’s really good at everything.”

Added quarterback Liam Szarka, “You’re never going to see him getting tackled by leaning towards our side of the ball. He’s always going toward the end zone or the first down. I think that’s very important. He gets us every single yard that he can.”

Coach Troy Calhoun doesn’t anticipate Allen will receive a Roberts-level of carries – his 345 attempts in 2022 and 299 in 2021 stand as the top two in an individual season in program history, and the coach knows it was anomalous for a player to withstand that load.

“I wouldn’t see that happening this year,” Calhoun said. “Now, a good bit of usage? Yes, perhaps so.”

Back to that picture.

I’m a fan of historical non-fiction, with the American Revolution being my era of choice. I highly recommend “Founding Brothers,” by Joseph J. Ellis – think “Hamilton” with decidedly less rhythm.

If one thing from this genre consistently gives me a chuckle, it’s the elaborate character descriptions drawn from painted portraits. I realize talented artists of their day went to great lengths to encapsulate the essence of their subjects, but I never understood how authors centuries later could interpret so much from one captured moment.

Then I saw Allen’s portrait. Now I understand.

The history buff in me will be tracking Allen’s progress on Air Force’s all-time lists. He enters the season with 1,085 rushing yards, No. 60 all-time for the Falcons. With 1,000 yards, he would put himself on the doorstep of the Top 10. With a Roberts-like 1,700 he would make a run at the Top 5.

Whatever the specifics turn out to be, Allen’s background, talent and place in an offense that will lean on his experience will afford him the opportunity for a season that could be remembered around here for a long time.

That, I can certainly picture.