Markus Allen had his number called early.

On the first third down of the 2022 season, Allen ran a crisp post to free himself up. Quarterback Graham Mertz made the right read and hit him in stride. The ball sputtered off Allen's hands to stall the first offensive drive of the year.

From the booth upstairs, offensive coordinator Bobby Engram relayed a message for the young receiver to position coach Alvis Whitted.

“Just stay confident,” was Engram’s message. “Just keep playing the game.

"You want to get him back into rhythm whenever you can. There is a lot of football left to be played and for a young guy, you just don’t want that to affect them.”

Mertz made sure to check in with the redshirt freshman as well, letting him know he’d keep coming back to him. Two drives later, he did just that.

Facing third and six deep in Illinois State territory, Allen ran the same in breaking route. This time around, the redshirt freshman hauled it in for a 19-yard reception and a first down.

“It meant a lot because he still has trust in me being his receiver,” Allen said. “The coaches still have trust in me. They were like, 'one drop, OK, move on to the next play.' That’s the mentality. I feel like that’s what I got from the coaches and just from Graham also. It was a good feeling knowing they kept coming to me until I got the hot hand.”

That trust the duo has built up has been in the works for months now. During their spring break this past school year, Allen spent five days with Mertz in his hometown in Kansas. The two worked with Mertz’s quarterback coach going over the playbook and working out. Off the field, they had their share of barbecue and got to know each others' "why."

“It honestly helped a lot,” Allen said. “Going back home to his hometown, working with him so he can have another receiver to throw to and work on our chemistry. Still learn Graham and understand each other on and off the field. That was the best feeling going back and working with him.

"We did a lot of on field workouts and after football was over, just getting to know each other. I feel like that’s the thing that’s the biggest piece for our team. The chemistry is so high. We know each other in and out. We know who he’s doing it for, what he’s doing it for.”

Those workouts were part of an offseason initiative from the wide receiver room and quarterbacks room. During the offseason, they made sure to meet at least three times a week and the work carried over to fall camp before and after practice fine tuning things.

“Came down to a player-led team. The coaches can tell you what to do but it comes down to the players and who wants it. I feel like we attacked that very good in the summer,” Allen said.

That kind of work in the offseason showed up right away for Allen in the form of a trio of catches for 34 yards. After seeing the field for just 42 snaps in 2021, he saw 24 against Illinois, just behind Chimere Dike's 25 for the most action for a wide receiver.

Now playing having a magnified role in the offense, Allen represents a big, physical receiver for Mertz on the outside. Aside from a target behind the line of scrimmage, his other four targets for average depth of 13.5 yards, according to Pro Football Focus, with two of his three receptions going for first downs.

"Big thing with how he plays is he’s physical," Mertz said. "He’s physical in his releases, when the ball is in the air, just running his routes and that’s what you want in a receiver."

Coming off a solid performance to start the year, Allen still sees areas of improvement for himself. Targeted in the end zone on a slant, the receiver had the ball knocked away by a defensive back behind him. Though a tough reception to make, he still expects to make those kind of plays.

"I feel like I did OK, a decent job," Allen said. "Pretty hard on myself, I try to strive for perfection. It’s hard to do. At the end of the day, still have things you can clean up on. I did have two catches but I did have two drops."

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