What is in a name (change)? For Josh Hines-Allen, it was about roots and recognition

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With a 17 1/2 sack season, a second Pro Bowl appearance and a new contract that made him the highest-paid outside linebacker in football, Josh Allen had become an undisputed big name in the NFL. But not exactly the way he wanted.

He was often called ‘the other Josh Allen,” featuring the better-known quarterback of the Buffalo Bills.

The Jacksonville Jaguars pass Rusher and his wife, Kaitlyn, were watching highlights from this year’s Pro Bowl Games and listened to a commentator refer to “Aidan Hutchinson and Josh…Allen?”

“It was almost like she was confused about who I was,” he says.

She wasn’t the only one. Kaitlyn wanted to know where her husband’s sweaters were being sold and discovered they were as hard to find as disinfectant wipes during the pandemic. The 27-year-old, five-year NFL veteran and father of three had been considering changing his name for a few years. Now his wife started to insist.

His four older sisters have a different surname, Hines-Allen, which incorporates their mother Kim’s maiden name. When Josh and twin brother Isaiah were born, their father, Robert, wanted the boys to be Allens. Kim and Robert divorced when Josh was a baby, and his father wasn’t around much, so the boys were raised and molded by Hineses. In his New Jersey neighborhood, Josh was known as “Little Hines.”

So this offseason, Josh hired a marketing agent and a lawyer. He waited in line at the courthouse that serves Duval County. There were piles of forms to fill out. He had to verify the addresses of every place he lived from birth to the present. He had to identify all his relatives, as well as their place of residence and age. Changes had to be made to his driver’s license, social security information and tax returns.

In July, his marketing team released a video announcing the change, and a new teal nameplate was placed above his locker. In that moment, Josh Hines-Allen became who he was meant to be.

The new name is about how he hopes to rise. And it’s about what motivates him.

Morris Hines was a force. Considered a hoops legend on the streets of their New Jersey neighborhood, Morris founded a basketball team at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark and instilled a love of sports in his descendants, including his grandson Josh. Morris taught Josh how to shadow box. He always said, ‘Cut them deep and let them bleed.’ Josh has it tattooed on his inner arm. Josh learned to tie a tie from Morris. In fact, he tied the bonds of teammates and taught them the way Morris did.

“He is one of the biggest reasons why I am mentally and competitively the way I am,” Josh says.

Morris’ eldest son, Greg, was more of a father figure to Josh than an uncle. He was also a legendary basketball player and an example of how sports can change a life. “Dunkin’ Hines” was a dominant big man at Hampton University and an inaugural member of the Hampton Athletics Hall of Fame. Hines, a fifth-round pick of the Golden State Warriors, never made it to the NBA but played professionally for 12 years.

At age 12, Josh was the only male in the house while Isaiah lived with family in Alabama. His sisters drove him crazy by ‘mamming’ him.

“It was just sad,” he says. “I was already going to school, and at home they let me go to ‘class’ with them as teachers. It was just because they wanted to. We had math, science and recess.”

Desperate to leave his home, Josh moved in with Dunkin’ Hines, who took Josh and his dirty clothes to the laundromat and taught him how to wash, dry and fold them. Josh learned to count the coins they kept in a jar and convert them into cash at a change machine. Hines let him feed and clean up after Blazer, his white boxers.

Josh and Hines imitated the WWE wrestlers Josh saw on ‘SmackDown’ and ‘Raw’, trying to get the other to tap out. At 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, Hines had a significant advantage, which helped Josh learn to use his fast, strong hands.

“Those nights were so great,” says Josh.

Hines trained Josh on the basketball court, where he remembers his cousin as an average ballhandler, but strong and very athletic for his size, with a knack for rebounds, loose balls and defense. When Josh became frustrated with basketball, Hines signed him up for football for the first time.

When Josh moved here, Hines was a bachelor enjoying the privileges of freedom and fame. He thought Josh needed some religion, so every Sunday morning they walked to Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church in Montclair, where they experienced amazing grace together.

“I had no structure and no responsibilities in my life,” Hines says. “That grounding, keeping God at the center of our lives, helped us both.”

Josh also looked up to Keith Hines, Greg’s brother and Kim’s twin. Cousins ​​called Keith “The General” because he didn’t mess around. Basketball was also in his blood, as The General once scored 59 points in a high school game and went on to play at Montclair State before becoming a high school coach.

It wasn’t just the men of the family who paved the way for Josh.

Josh’s appreciation for the spectacle of the sport grew as he sat in the stands at Montclair High watching his sister Torri, who would go on to play at Virginia Tech and Towson. Every time the lights dimmed and Torri and her teammates broke through a poster, he got chills.

“I thought it was the coolest thing, and it made me fall in love with that part of the sport,” he says.

Sister Kyra played basketball at Cheyney University the same way Josh plays football. “You didn’t want to mess with her, you know what I mean?” he says. “She was the smallest of my sisters, but also the toughest, and I just loved the way she played.”

Myisha, a year older than Josh, played against sixth-grade boys when she was in fourth grade. In high school she was a McDonald’s All-American. At Louisville, she was first-team All-ACC three times and played on a Final Four team. She won a WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019 and was named second-team all-league a year later.

Josh’s entire athletic experience revolved around keeping up with Myisha, who he could never compete with on the basketball court. A year after she went 19th overall in the WNBA draft, he wanted to be drafted higher, which he was (seventh). Now he’s determined to win a championship just like her – and take her one step further by being named first-team all-league.

Myisha and Josh weren’t close when they were young, but their relationship has grown as professional athletes.

“I try to motivate her, lead her on a good path and help her keep her mind on track,” says Josh. “She does the same for me.”

Myisha Hines-Allen (left) won a WNBA championship in 2019 as a member of the Washington Mystics. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Shortly before the Jaguars play the Bills in September, Josh plans to offer fans the opportunity to trade old “Allen” jerseys for new “Hines-Allen” jerseys at a discounted price. It’s a good week to do this because the game is on Monday night and the players have some extra time – and his opponent is the other Josh Allen.

They have never traded jerseys with each other. They also didn’t exchange phone numbers or even pleasantries.

“I don’t think he likes me,” Hines-Allen says. “After the first time we played them, he walked right past me and never said anything. The second time I didn’t really care.”

If the quarterback is angry, he has a reason for it. Hines-Allen helped avoid winning both games they played against each other. In the first game, a 9-6 win in 2021, the Jaguars linebacker sacked and intercepted the Bills quarterback and recovered his fumble. And the Jaguars won the second “Josh Allen Bowl” by a score of 25-20.

Those games weren’t just Hines-Allen games.

“It was kind of a respect thing — you have to earn the respect,” said Hines-Allen, who vows never to lose to the Bills QB. “I feel like I did, but if we hadn’t won, it would have been like, ‘Oh, and you lose to him?’ It definitely brought out something extra in me, because my name is my name. I respect everyone and want the same to be given to me.”

If Hines-Allen breaks the NFL sack record of 22 1/2 — which he plans to do — there will be more respect. It attacks the passerby with extreme dynamics and unpredictable gusts of wind, making it as easy to stop as a twister. He had 17 sacks in 13 games at Kentucky and 22 1/2 in 12 games at Montclair High. Getting 5 1/2 more than in 2023 does not seem unreasonable to him.

He believes his pursuit of the record will be furthered by dropping less and rushing more in the plan of new Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Head coach Doug Pederson envisions Hines-Allen “expanding the 20-plus sack range” with more support from his team.

“He’s one of those guys who comes early and stays late,” said Pederson, who recently became Hines-Allen’s neighbor when the linebacker bought a house near his coach. “He has the determination to be great.”

He hires a chef to prepare his meals and sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber for about five hours every night. He takes the device to road races, along with a specialist who administers intravenous fluids and his personal physiotherapist.

During his pregame routine, he makes himself the only person in a crowd of thousands by wearing noise-canceling headphones and listening to nothing but silence. He’s normally sociable, with an easy smile and hugs all around. But there is a dark side.

“I’m angry,” he says. “I had a great season last year, but all I got was a Pro Bowl. I’m angry because you think I should be happy. I’m mad because I wasn’t All-Pro. I’m angry because I wasn’t nominated for defender of the year. I’m angry because my team didn’t make the play-offs.”

So now there are quarterbacks to bash, honors to earn, triumphs to achieve, a legacy to uphold and another to create. And opponents who have studied the 2023 tape will realize that the linebacker across from them is not the same one who wore No. 41 last year.

This is Josh Hines-Allen.

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletics; photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)