JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With a 17 1/2-year career, a second Pro Bowl appearance and a new contract that makes him the highest-paid outside linebacker in football, Josh Allen is undoubtedly a big name in the NFL. But it hasn’t exactly been what he wanted.
He often says ” different Also known as “Josh Allen,” the more famous of the two was the Buffalo Bills quarterback.
The Jacksonville Jaguars pass rusher and his wife, Kaitlyn, were watching highlights from this year’s Pro Bowl when they heard a commentator say, “Aidan Hutchinson and Josh… Allen?”
“She seemed confused about who I was,” he said.
She wasn’t the only one. Kaitlyn wanted to know where her husband’s jerseys were being sold, and she found that they were as hard to find as disinfectant wipes during the pandemic. The 27-year-old, five-year NFL veteran and father of three had been considering changing his name for years. Now, his wife is pushing for it.
His four older sisters have a different surname, Hines-Allen, which is a combination of their mother Kim’s maiden name. When Josh and his twin brother Isaiah were born, their father Robert wanted the boys to be Allen. Kim and Robert divorced when Josh was a baby, and since his father was rarely home, the boys were raised and shaped by the Hines. In their New Jersey neighborhood, Josh was known as “Little Hines.”
So in the offseason, Josh hired a marketing agent and a lawyer. He waited in line at the courthouse for Duval County. There was a mountain of paperwork to fill out. He had to verify every address he had ever lived in since birth. He had to verify every family member, where they lived, and their ages. He had to change his driver’s license, his Social Security information, his tax returns.
In July, his marketing team released a video announcing the change, a new teal name tag was installed above his locker, and Josh Hines-Allen became his true self.
Former professional basketball player and uncle Greg “Dunkin’” Hines (left) is a towering figure in Josh Hines-Allen’s life. (Courtesy of Greg Hines)
The new name is about how he wants to rise, and it’s about getting him down to earth.
Maurice Hines was a force. A basketball legend on the streets of New Jersey, Maurice founded the basketball team at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark and instilled in his descendants, including his grandson Josh, a love of the sport. Maurice taught Josh to shadowbox. He used to say, “Cut deep and make it bleed.” Josh got that tattooed on his inner arm. Josh learned how to tie a tie from Maurice. In fact, he tied his teammates’ ties and taught them how to do it.
“He’s one of the biggest reasons I’m where I am mentally and competitively,” Josh said.
Morris’ oldest son, Greg, was more of a father figure to Josh than an uncle. He was also a basketball legend and an example of how sports can change lives. “Dunkin’ Hines” was a dominant big man at Hampton University and an inaugural member of the Hampton Athletics Hall of Fame. A fifth-round pick by the Golden State Warriors, Hines played professionally for 12 years, though he never made it to the NBA.
At age 12, Josh was the only male in the house with his sister Isiah, who lived with relatives in Alabama. His sisters called him “Mom” and drove him crazy.
“I just felt bad,” he says. “I was already going to school, and my parents, as teachers, made me go to ‘class’ with them. It was just because they wanted to. We had math and science and recess.”
Wanting to get out of the house, Josh moved to Dunkin’ Hines, where he and his dirty clothes were taken to the laundromat and taught how to wash, dry, and fold them. Josh learned to count coins he saved in a jar and turn them into cash at the change machine. Hines fed and cleaned up his white boxer, Blazer.
Josh and Hines would try to get the other to tap out, mimicking the WWE wrestlers Josh had seen on “SmackDown” and “Raw.” At 6’9″ and 280 pounds, Hines had a significant advantage, which taught Josh how to use leverage and fast, strong hands.
“That night was really great,” Josh says.
Hines trained Josh on the basketball court, where he remembers his nephew as an average ball handler but strong for his size, athletic, and good at rebounding, loose balls, and defense. When Josh became discouraged from basketball, Hines first signed him up for football.
When Josh moved in, Hines was a single man with the privilege of freedom and honor. He thought Josh needed religion, so every Sunday morning they walked to the Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church in Montclair, where they experienced amazing grace together.
“I had no structure and no accountability in my life,” Hines says. “Having that foundation, having God at the center of our lives, helped both of us.”
Josh also looked up to Keith Hines, Greg’s older brother and Kim’s twin. His nephews and nieces called him “The General” because Keith didn’t play around. Basketball was also in his blood, as the General once scored 59 points in a high school game before becoming a high school coach at Montclair State.
It wasn’t just the men of the family who paved the way for Josh.
Josh developed an appreciation for the glamour of sports while sitting in the stands at Montclair High watching his sister Torri play for Virginia Tech and Towson. He would get goosebumps every time the lights dimmed and Torri and her teammates would burst through the posters in a blinding flash of light.
“I thought it was really cool and I fell in love with that part of the sport,” he says.
Sister Kyra played basketball at Cheyney College, the same way Josh played football. “I didn’t want to mess with her, you know?” he says. “She was the smallest of my sisters, but she was the strongest, and I really liked the way she played.”
Mysha, a year older than Josh, played against the sixth-grade boys in the fourth grade. In high school, she was a McDonald’s All-American. At Louisville, she was a three-time All-ACC First Team selection and played on a Final Four team. She won the WNBA Championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019 and was a second-team All-League selection a year later.
Josh’s athletic experience was to keep up with Mysha, who he couldn’t compete with on the basketball court. A year after she was drafted 19th in the WNBA Draft, he wanted to be drafted higher (7th), and he did. Now he’s determined to win a championship like she did, and get ahead of her by being named to the All-League First Team.
Mysha and Josh weren’t close as kids, but their relationship grew stronger as professional athletes.
“I motivate her, guide her, and help her keep her mind right,” Josh says. “She does the same for me.”
Mysha Hines-Allen (left) won the WNBA Championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Just before the Jaguars play the Bills in September, Josh plans to offer fans the opportunity to trade in their old “Allen” jerseys for the new “Hines-Allen” jerseys at a discount. It’s a good week because the game is on Monday night and the players have some free time. Plus, his opponent is another Josh Allen.
They never exchanged uniforms, never exchanged phone numbers, never even said hello.
“I don’t think he likes me,” Hines-Allen said. “The first time I played with them, he walked by me and didn’t say anything. The second time, he didn’t really care.”
If the quarterback is angry, he has good reason to be. Hines-Allen has prevented them from winning both games they’ve faced. In the first game of a 9-6 win in 2021, the Jaguars linebacker not only sacked and intercepted the Bills quarterback but also recovered a fumble. And the Jaguars won the second “Josh Allen Bowl” 25-20.
For Hines-Allen, those games weren’t just any games.
“It was kind of like respect. You have to earn respect,” said Hines-Allen, who vowed never to lose to a Bills QB. “I think I did, but if I didn’t win, I’d be like, ‘Oh, I lost to him?’ It definitely gave me a little extra because my name is on it. I respect everybody and I want to give them the same.”
Hines-Allen will get more respect if he breaks the NFL sack record of 22 1/2 (which he is trying to do). He is so dynamic and unpredictable that he rushes the passer, making him as easy to block as a twister. He had 17 sacks in 13 games at Kentucky and 22 1/2 in 12 games at Montclair High School. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for him to have 5 1/2 more sacks than he did in 2023.
He believes his quest for the record will be aided by dropping less and rushing more in the scheme run by new Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Head coach Doug Pederson expects Hines-Allen to “expand his 20-plus sack range” with more support from the team.
“He’s one of those guys who shows up early and stays late,” said Pederson, whose linebacker recently bought a house near the coach, making him a neighbor of Hines-Allen. “He has a drive to be great.”
He hires a chef to prepare his meals, sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber for about five hours every night, and brings equipment with him on away games, along with an IV specialist and a personal physiotherapist.
In his pre-game routine, he wears noise-cancelling headphones and listens to nothing but silence, making himself the only person in a crowd of thousands. He is usually sociable, smiles easily, and embraces those around him. But he has a dark side.
“I’m mad,” he says. “I had a good season last year, but all I got was a Pro Bowl. I’m mad that people think I should be happy. I’m mad that I didn’t make All-Pro. I’m mad that I didn’t get Defensive Player of the Year. I’m mad that my team didn’t make the playoffs.”
So now there’s a quarterback to hit, there’s honors to earn, there’s wins to earn, there’s a legacy to protect, there’s a legacy to build. And opponents who study the tape in 2023 are going to realize that the linebacker across from them is not the same one who wore No. 41 last year.
This guy is Josh Hines Allen.
(Image: Dan Goldfarb / work out; Photo: Cooper Neal/Getty Images)
