Meet Blake Allison, Millikin football's 31-year-old kicker

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The football season may still be in its early stages for the Millikin program, but Big Blue has enjoyed a breath of fresh air.

The team is off to a 1-0 start following a week 1 win with new Head Coach, Billy Riebock. Student-athletes have also been able to take advantage of the newly constructed Rathje Athletic Center.

Along with all that is new, their place kicker is a fresh face to the program as well. It's his first time wearing a Big Blue uniform, but he's a well-known face in the Decatur community - 31-year-old Blake Allison.

Most may be familiar with his charity golf outing, "Blake-a-ParLooza", which as raised over $21,000 for local charities. Now, nearly a decade after his last time kicking at Quincy University, he's lacing up his cleats once again.

"My friends kind of just figured, 'Yeah, this is just another thing Blake's doing,'" Blake jokes. "Whether [I'm] throwing a golf outing or who knows what, running a marathon or something like that."

After graduating from St. Teresa High School in 2012, Blake attended Quincy University where he kicked for three of his four years. He redshirted one season due to an injury and, when his time there concluded, banked one extra year of eligibility that he is now exercising today.

Riebock, a Saint T grad himself, made a post to social media this past Summer about the Millikin kicking role being open. Due to an injury, the team was in need of someone to fill the spot. Through a mutual connection, Blake and Coach Riebock connected and began discussing the possibility of a return, eventually planning a try-out at the Bulldogs football field.

"I show up and stretch for about a minute," Blake recalls. "Brit [Miller] makes me kick in front of the entire team and says, 'If you miss any, the kids are gonna have to run,' and luckily I made all five."

According to Blake, he went from working his everyday job selling insurance, back to being a student-athlete in only a matter of a few days.

"They looked into compliance and eligibility, and next thing I knew, I was enrolling in classes," Blake says. "Yeah, had a lot of people questioning what I was doing."

Blake says the dynamic in the locker room is the same as when he was at Quincy a decade ago. The largest difference is, of course, the age gap between him and his fellow Millikin teammates.

He recalled several stories that explain the strange, and yet, funny feeling that made him say, "Wow, I feel old."

Joe Brummer, a recent St. Teresa graduate, is on the team and Blake recalled calling junior football league games on the radio while Brummer played. Another player was interested in the insurance industry and working for different companies, and asked Blake if he had any suggestions about getting into the business.

"Any way I can spread my, I guess, wisdom of the career, I'll happily do it," Blake says.

A long season awaits Millikin and Blake, but following their 33-3 win over Luther College to open the season (where Blake went 2/3 kicking PATs), there's plenty of faith the year will be successful.

Blake is excited about the opportunity to kick again in his home town. The chance to prove to others, and to himself, that he can still compete is a fun challenge.

"It is a time commitment," he says. "Your hobbies get limited, but it's fun."

His goals - limit the misses, be a great teammate, and hopefully in the end, he'll have a great story for his future kids.