Austin Allen played for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 2014 to 2017. He saw significant playing time as both a Junior and Senior, and over his 4 years in Fayetteville, he threw for 5,045 yards (359/607) and 36 TDs as a traditional drop back passer.
He’d be signed after the 2018 NFL Draft as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the top 3 spots essentially settled at QB for the Bucs, Allen got his most playtime in during the final preseason game against the Jaguars. He’d complete 4 of 10 passes for 64 yards and a pick.
After being cut, Austin quickly found a home with the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football. During the AAF Protect or Pick QB Draft, Allen was selected in the 3rd round by the Salt Lake City Stallions.
During the preseason, Austin was 5 of 7 for 65 yards against Memphis. He’d back up Josh Woodrum at QB for the entire season, seeing his most extensive action in week 2 against Birmingham. Allen was 15/31 for 114 yards versus the Iron.
After the dissolution of the AAF, Austin was most recently spotted trying out for the XFL 2020 initiative but was not selected in the league’s draft.
Cards: Action Packed Rookies 1991, Star Pics 1991 Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home Sent: 3/23/19 Received: 8/13/19 (143 days)
Charles McRae played college ball at Tennessee from 1987-1990. For the first two years with the Volunteers, he played defensive line. McRae then joined the offensive line for 1989 and 1990 playing tackle. In his final year at Tennessee he earned Offensive Lineman of the Year Awards from NFL Draft Report- singled out for his outstanding blocking both against the run and pass. Charles also stood out (6’7″) on special teams blocking 5 kicks over his time at Knoxville.
He’d be selected in the first round (8th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The problem is the Bucs already had a left tackle in All Pro Paul Gruber– so Charles was moved to right tackle playing in all 16 games and starting 4 his rookie year. He’d play his first full 16 game slate in 1992. In 1994, Tampa shifted Charles to left guard for a season, starting 10 games. After the 1995 season, he spent one nondescript season on the Raiders before retiring.
After earning his Masters’ at Tennessee, Charles has spent his time as an executive in the medical field specializing in radiology.
I really like the presentation of his Action Packed Rookies card in what was definitely a set need. I threw these cards up with a hope and a prayer they’d come back. Charles was kind enough to sign these classic cards of his.
Card: TNT UT Legends Acquired: IP, 2014 See Also: Rod Babers
Over the years I’ve pretty much tapped out the complete card collection of Rod Babers. He’s a great local radio personality, and a really big fan and student of sports. It seems that whenever I run into him- we pick up where we left off, promise to hang out, and never get around to it. I mean maybe its the unsaid rule I follow that is basically even if a person is a D-list celebrity you should give them a lot of space. We tried to network for a Texans game in 2017, but that fell through. In the meantime he had a fallout with 1300 the Zone, but thankfully picked up right where he was at with ESPN doing what he does best.
I decided to pop in and say hi in 2018- A year after the last time I saw him at the Texans draft party when I had accurately predicted the Texans would trade up to take Deshawn Watson. We again picked up where we left off, and just started talking sport. His team thanked me for coming by and hanging out and we chatted for a bit. It was good times. We talked briefly about the AAF and the Texans but really weren’t able to get into details since he was pretty busy.
We catch up from time to time and he’s always very personable and friendly and loves to sign autographs.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
