Kyle Allen Proves He Is the Future for Texas A&M in Liberty Bowl Win

Freshman Kyle Allen was brought to Texas A&M to be the quarterback of the future for head coach Kevin Sumlin, after former superstar and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel moved on to the NFL.

The future is now, and Allen proved it in the 45-37 AutoZone Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia on Monday afternoon in Memphis, Tennessee.

Allen completed 22-of-35 passes for 294 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and made several key throws that kept the chains moving and the Aggies in the game in a high-scoring first half that featured 55 combined points.

On top of that, Allen added 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground while showing enough elusiveness to make him a threat.

Is he Manziel? No. Nobody is.

But he can turn the jets on when needed, which is an important attribute in Sumlin's offense, as B/R national lead writer Ben Kercheval notes:

Yes, it was against a West Virginia defense that isn't exactly a replica of the 1985 Chicago Bears. If it's comparable to anything, it's to the 2014 Atlanta Falcons.

But Allen sliced and diced the Mountaineers, which is a good sign of things to come for himself and the Aggies offense, as ESPN.com's San Khan, Jr. notes:

Make no mistake, offense was a problem in College Station coming into this matchup.

Allen looked sluggish in his first career start against Louisiana-Monroe before going on the road and ending Auburn's College Football Playoff dreams. Since then, though, it's been a rocky road for the Scottsdale, Arizona native. 

He lost two straight (to Missouri and LSU), looked confused on Thanksgiving night and far from the gunslinger he was brought to College Station to be.

It was understandable. 

After Kenny Hill's struggles, Allen was tossed into the fire as Texas A&M's starting quarterback with very few first-team practice reps under his belt. He got those during bowl practice, and it showed.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Allen had poise in the pocket, spread passes around to nine different receivers and had full command of the offense for the first time since his masterpiece on the Plains.

For A&M, that's a huge sign moving forward.

The defense is a problem, and that will be addressed when Sumlin hires a new defensive coordinator. The offense—his bread and butter—needed confidence, and it now has it.

The pieces are already in place for A&M's offense to thrive. Allen will be a sophomore next year; only one player who caught 10 or more passes this season is a senior (Malcome Kennedy) and none of Texas A&M's running backs are seniors.

The only missing piece of the puzzle is consistency, and Sumlin knows that's the next step this offseason for Allen and the Aggies (via: TexAgs.com's Twitter account):

Allen is set up to be a superstar and has the coaching and supporting cast to make him one next year.

His Liberty Bowl performance was just the appetizer.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.