Beau Allen wins starting quarterback job at Tarleton State

Former Kentucky quarterback Beau Allen will take the field as Tarleton State’s starting quarterback to open the 2022 college football season.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the former Wildcat has won the starting quarterback battle for the Texans. He entered the transfer portal at the end of July and committed to open the month of August.

Source: Kentucky transfer Beau Allen has won the job as the starting quarterback for Tarleton State. They play at TCU in Week 2.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 25, 2022

Allen was a four-star recruit when the Lexington Catholic product signed with Kentucky in the 2020 recruiting class. He appeared in five games during his two-year career and completed 11-of-19 passes for 132 yards (6.9 yards per attempt). He also scrambled for a rushing touchdown against New Mexico State.

Tarleton State is an FCS program that competes in the Western Athletic Conference. They recently moved up from the D-II ranks for the 2020-21 season, making the Texans ineligible for postseason play until 2024. Last year the program went 6-5.

With Allen taking his talents to Tarleton State, Deuce Hogan and Kaiya Sheron are battling for the backup quarterback spot in Lexington.

“Deuce and Kaiya have been doing a really good job. With Beau leaving, it obviously became those two battling head to head,” starting quarterback Will Levis said Saturday. “One day Deuce will have a better day, one day Kaiya will have a better day.”

Levis appreciates the team-first mindset the backups bring to the table in the quarterback room, never focusing on themselves or the battle for second string.

“Both of them, what’s been great about it and something I wanted to make sure of even when Beau was here — that’s something I’ve been a part of as a quarterback, being in a battle and fighting for a position,” Levis said. ”You never want it to leak into the meeting room, never want there to be any animosity between the guys.

“That’s the one thing I’ve been really impressed with with them, they’ve been there for each other. They’re talking about what they saw on the field coming off of a rep, communicating positively in meetings, just trying to better our team more than anything. It’s not official yet who the No. 2 yet is or anything, that’s a coach decision, not mine. But they’ve both been doing a really good job.”

The game reps may not be there, but Hogan and Sheron will have crucial roles for the program, specifically with Levis’ development.

“Coach (Scangarello) has emphasized that their role is going to be bigger than backup quarterbacks this season, they’re going to be a resource for me,” Levis said. ”He’s going to have specific roles for both of them for game preparation, whether that’s looking at personnel, getting tips and reads on certain guys. They can look at stuff film-wise I might not have time to watch, and that’s something that happens in the NFL — they say the backups watch more film than the starters. That’s cool.

“For them to be a resource for me, I’m excited for that.”

Tarleton State opens the season against Mississippi Valley on Sept. 1. Meanwhile, Kentucky is set to take on Miami (OH) on Sept. 3.