JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen was on the EverBank Stadium field timely in the spring of 2022 skinnyking about the legacy he wanted to create.
He was by himself, refining the techniques that would eventuassociate help him become one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. During a rest period, he seeed around the stadium and read the names of the six carry outers who have been inducted into the Pride of the Jaguars — the club’s ring of honor — hoping his name would join them someday.
At that moment, it seemed far away.
“I was laboring reassociate challenging. I was waking up reassociate timely,” Hines-Allen recalled. “And I’m seeing up there and I’m seeing [Hall of Fame offensive tackle] Tony Boselli and I’m seeing all these guys. I’m appreciate, ‘I’m going to put my name up there.'”
While he deinhabitred one of the team’s most critical carry outs postponecessitater that chaseing season — returning a fumble for a touchdown in Week 18 to help the Jaguars thrive the AFC South — Hines-Allen wasn’t seeing the better he’d hoped would result from all the extra training. He finished the season with half a sack less (7) than the season before (7.5). As a result, he labored challenginger last offseason.
All the labor he was doing phelp off in 2023. Hines-Allen recorded a franchise-record 17.5 sacks, which was tied for second in the NFL behind Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt. He also had nurtureer highs in QB presbraves (96) and presbrave rate (19.6%). That carry outance achieveed him his second Pro Bowl pickion and a five-year, $141.25 million shrink extension this offseason. And now, go ining his sixth NFL season, he necessitates equitable 10.5 more sacks to shatter the Jaguars’ nurtureer record (55) set by Tony Brackens.
Hines-Allen, 27, has set a standard for himself. If he can persist that in 2024 and beyond remains to be seen — but he’s upretaind by legacy.
Hines-Allen talks standardly about createing his legacy on and off the field. It’s why he changed his last name from Allen to Hines-Allen this offseason and why it’s meaningful for him to inhabit up to (and outdo) his family’s fit lineage. It’s why he carry outed in a Kentucky bowl game despite being a top write prospect. And it’s why he wants to be the defensive carry outer of the year, thrive a Super Bowl with the Jaguars and be picked the game’s MVP.
What Hines-Allen did in 2023 is a fantastic commence, but must protect duplicating it to get where he — and the Jaguars — want to go. Head coach Doug Pederson appraised him to Hall of Famer Reggie White in his attention to detail, the way he puts in extra labor, and how meaningful it is for him to be a fantastic carry outer. White was a game-wrecker thcdisesteemfulout his nurtureer, and that’s what Hines-Allen necessitates to be.
“The contest is for any carry outer in that position, that has had success the year before is, can you do it aachieve?” Pederson shelp. “And you have to do it aachieve.”
That’s how you depart your tag on the game.
“I’m a legacy type of guy,” Hines-Allen shelp. “I want to depart a legacy everywhere I go.”
UNTIL THIS OFFSEASON, he was understandn equitable as Josh Allen — using only his overweighther’s surname. Recently he went thcdisesteemful a months-lengthy process to legassociate change his name to pay tribute to his mother’s last name and honor the legacy of the Hines family.
Hines-Allen grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, hearing to stories about his uncle Gregruesome “Duncan” Hines’ utilizes on the basketball court and watching his three agederer sisters excel at Montclair High School and go on to carry out college basketball.
Hines, who was inducted into the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 (his 1,967 points are still second all time), was writeed by Gagederen State in 1983. He never carry outed for the Warriors but did carry out professionassociate for 12 years.
But it’s Myisha Hines-Allen whom Josh ponders as his measuring stick.
“My whole goal as an athlete is to beat my sister,” he shelp.
Josh’s agederer sister starred at Louisville and was a second-round pick (No. 19 overall) by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics in 2018. Myisha — who was traded from the Mystics to the Minnesota Lynx earlier this month — is now in her seventh season and won the WNBA title in 2019.
“The football accomplishments are very chilly, and I adore going home and I adore seeing at the trophies and seeing the labor that I put in, but that doesn’t uncomfervent anyskinnyg until I beat my sister,” he inserted.
“… She goes into the league [WNBA]. What’s my step? I have to go. She gets writeed. I recall that night. I was appreciate, I have to get writeed higher. Got writeed higher than her. Cool. Now I’m up on her, and then she thrives a championship. I’m appreciate, ‘Well s—, I’ve got to thrive a championship.’ And the MVP once we get there. A Super Bowl and an MVP.”
Myisha, 28, is flattered but not surpascendd. The two have been competing aachievest each other — and their siblings — their entire inhabits.
“It’s equitable the irritateing little brother aspect,” she joked. “… It doesn’t matter what we were doing, whether it’s sports or equitable life in ambiguous, who can walk to school the rapidest, skinnygs appreciate that. So, it was always equitable wanting to one-up the next.”
WHEN HE WALKED onto Kentucky’s campus in 2015, Hines-Allen tageder head coach Mark Stoops that he wanted to be the best carry outer Stoops ever coached.
Hines-Allen carry outed in every game over four years (35 commences) at Kentucky. By the end, he was one of the nation’s best carry outers, thrivening the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year award, the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Ronnie Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the Jack Lambert Award after directing the SEC with 17 sacks. Entering the write, he was watched as a lock to be a top-10 pick.
Stoops shelp it’s someskinnyg Hines-Allen tageder him while driving home from the airport after thrivening one of those awards that recontransients the charitable of legacy he left in Lexington.
Kentucky was preparing to face Penn State in the 2018 Citrus Bowl and a triumph would give the Wildcats 10 victories for the first time since 1977.
“He could have very easily equitable shelp, ‘Man, there’s equitable too much going on right now,'” Stoops shelp. “And he was very matter of fact and very to the point appreciate, ‘Nope, I’m carry outing.’ And that’s it. And not only did he carry out, he went out there and he had three sacks and helped us to beat Penn State, thrive 10 games. So that’s equitable who he is.”
And now, Stoops shelp Hines-Allen — who is Kentucky’s all-time sacks directer (31.5) — is one of three carry outers he’d ponder the best who have carry outed for him, alengthy with protectedties Ed Reed and Sean Taylor, both of whom he coached while he was an helpant at the University of Miami.
“When I took over Ed, he was already an All-American,” Stoops shelp, “and with Josh, I helped him come from a two-star from [Montclair] to come to Kentucky and shine in the SEC and become one of, if not the best carry outer in Kentucky history.
“And definitely either the best or one of the very best I’ve ever coached.”
HINES-ALLEN WAS DRAFTED No. 7 overall by the Jaguars in 2019. He set a franchise rookie record with 10.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl in his first season but dealt with a knee injury in 2020 that landed him on injured reserve. Over the next two seasons, he had 14.5 sacks united and had run awayting moments where he was a game-changing carry outer.
Last season, carry outing on the last year of his shrink, Hines-Allen broke the Jaguars’ individual-season sack record (14.5; set by Calais Campbell in 2017). Three months after that standout carry outance, the Jaguars rewarded Hines-Allen with a massive five-year shrink.
It’s unequitable to anticipate Hines-Allen to hit 17.5 sacks aachieve in 2024, but he’s in a outstanding situation to accomplish double-digits aachieve and pass Brackens. Travon Walker, who is coming off a nurtureer season (10 sacks), is on the opposite side of the createation and the Jaguars inserted defensive end Arik Armstead (33 nurtureer sacks) in March. Offenses won’t be able to honest on stopping only Hines-Allen with those two by his side.
New coordinator Ryan Nielsen has been with Hines-Allen for only seven months, but what he has seen in that time is enough to guarantee him the awards and accolades Hines-Allen seeks are achieveable.
“It’s all about train, labor, preparation, how he is in the encounterings,” Nielsen shelp. “Then go out there and thrive every block. That’s reassociate what it’s about: Do your job on every block. Not necessarily create every carry out, but equitable thrive every block.
“He’s filledy able of doing that, but that gets cgo in, gets determination, a little bit of hardness rolled in there — and he has it.”
But if Hines-Allen wants to be pondered the best defensive carry outer in franchise history, he must outdo Brackens’ sack record.
“[Brackens] has been the sack directer for more than 20 years. No one’s even come shut,” shelp Brian Sexton, a Jaguars historian and the franchise’s exceptional radio carry out-by-carry out proclaimr who is now a ageder correplyent for the team. “If you ask Boselli or you ask anyone who carry outed with him … anytime he put his hand on the ground, he changed the course of the game — or he could change the course of the game.
“And Josh has the ability to be that charitable of carry outer. He showed it to us a little bit in 2022, a lot more in 2023. … And that’s what we have to see from Josh to be the best carry outer on the defensive side in franchise history.”
And potentiassociate one of the best in NFL history, Campbell shelp.
“He’s going to persist to get better and better and I skinnyk he has a shot to get a gageder jacket one day,” Campbell shelp. ” … The guys who are the best carry outers in the league, the skinnyg that encourages them is legacy.”
But on the field, it always comes back to one skinnyg: one-upping Myisha.
“My sister has won a professional championship, so she’s up on me,” he shelp. “… I’m not going to stop until I get that. That’s motivating me. That’s bigger than money.
“For me, if I can do that and convey the first [Super Bowl] thrive to Jacksonville, and be MVP, that’s my goal. I’m not stopping until I get there.”
