Former USC track star Ashton Allen took a ‘leap of faith.’ Now, his speed could be an asset for Temple football.

Ashton Allen spent three seasons on Southern California’s track and field team, but his love for football has never wavered. The former two-sport star had offers to play football at several Power Four conference colleges, including Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh. He ultimately decided to follow two brothers, Eric and Austin, in joining the Trojans’ track program.

But even then, Allen would attend USC’s football games and says he attempted to join the football team “a few times.” But the logistics and scholarship rules prevented that from happening. Even as he enjoyed success on the track, which included a national championship in 2022 as the third leg of the 4x100 relay, football remained on his mind.

Allen, who was born in Chester but was raised in Odenton, Md., and attended Bullis School, took “a leap of faith” and entered his name in the transfer portal in March. With some help from his high school coach, Pat Cilento, who had a connection with Temple running backs coach Tyree Foreman, along with Allen’s five-year-old high school football film, he committed to the Owls two months later.

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“It was definitely an adjustment [switching back to football],” Allen said on a Zoom call last week. “It took a couple practices, with [Temple wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier] in my ear telling me to have confidence and play with speed, because that’s my advantage. So it took a couple practices. I had to get used to the pads and the weight, but I feel real comfortable now and hoping to build on that for rest of the camp.”

Like he did in high school, Allen will play wide receiver, where he finished with 800 yards receiving, 1,120 all-purpose yards, and 14 touchdowns as a senior. Since he joined the football team this summer, Allen didn’t participate in spring practices and enters a receiver room led by returnees Ian Stewart and Dante Wright.

So he spent the summer learning the playbook to earn the trust of his coaches. He’s made some impressive plays in camp, too. On Aug. 11 in nine-on-nine drills, he hauled in a 65-yard touchdown on a vertical route from Forrest Brock.

Owls coach Stan Drayton calls Allen “a very sharp young man” and pointed to his pursuit of being a doctor as the discipline he brings to North Broad.

“You see it in his preparation as a football player. He’s very intentional,” Drayton said Friday at Temple’s football media day. “Has a very mature approach to his game every single day, always compliant. There was a huge learning curve for him; he hadn’t played football since high school and had to basically be retaught the position.”

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Wide receiver John Adams put it plainly when asked about his new teammate: “He’s fast. Like, that man is fast.”

Fast, explosive, and speed have been the adjectives commonly used to describe Allen’s athleticism. At USC, he ran the 100, 200, and 400 meters as well as the 4x100. He hit a personal best of 20.59 seconds in the 200 at the 2023 Pac-12 championships to take fifth place. His 10.34-second 100-meter personal best was set in 2022 at the USC-UCLA dual meet.

Simply put, Allen’s speed is legit.

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The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder has just one season of eligibility remaining and is soaking up the knowledge as he pushes for a role in the Owls offense. Adams, Allen says, has been key in his rapid development, and he leans on the older players in the room for tips and details of the receiver position.

“He’s made such a crazy transition, and he’s been welcomed by the whole [receiver room],” Adams said. “He put in so many hours, put in so much work, and y’all will see in the season — that man is coming for something.”

Said Drayton: “He’s a very explosive athlete on the football field. The speed definitely carries over. There are some guys who run track, and there’s a difference in track speed and football speed, but this guy can put his foot in the ground and run real routes, change direction, and he’s big, he’s strong, and he’s fast.

“If he continues to progress the way that he’s progressing, he’s going to be an integral part of our offense.”

Two players come to mind when considering athletes who successfully made the transition between track and football: Devon Allen, who spent three years on the Eagles practice squad and played two games last season, and Marquise Goodwin, a 10-year NFL veteran who has played for the Browns, 49ers, Bears, Seahawks, and Bills over his career.

Devon Allen is a three-time U.S. national champion and a two-time Olympian in the 110-meter hurdles. He reached the finals at the 2016 Rio Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games, finishing fifth and fourth, respectively. Goodwin, meanwhile, placed 10th in the long jump at the 2012 London Games.

Goodwin and Devon Allen, however, played football throughout their college careers, at Texas and Oregon, respectively. But Ashton Allen is taking inspiration from their journeys.

» READ MORE: Inside the Eagles locker room: Devon Allen reflects on regular season debut

“Those guys are amazing athletes, being able to do both at a high level,” Allen said. “I am inspired by how they were able to balance both, and I’m hoping I can make the transition.”

His college football journey likely will end in December, but he’s hoping he can develop over the next five months and “see how far I can take this.”

“I feel like I have the talent to go to the NFL, so that’s my goal,” he said.