Hardly anybody calls him "Javorious." Only a handful of family members still refer to the Ravens' fourth-round draft pick by his natural name.
To everybody else, he's "Buck."
Javorius "Buck" Allen earned his nickname as a freshman in high school, and the name stuck ever since. It started when the running back played on the varsity team as a freshman, and all of the older kids referred to him as the "young buck."
"By the 10th grade, they just started calling me 'Buck,'" Allen said.
The nickname followed him to college at Southern California, and it has already caught on in Baltimore. All of his new teammates and coaches refer to him as Buck.
Allen actually isn't even the only "Buck" in his family; his cousin also goes by it. And things could get a little confusing in the Ravens' locker room when veteran middle linebacker Daryl Smith, another "Buck," is back in the building.
The rookie expects most people to call him by his nickname, but says he doesn't have a preference between that and his given name.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "As long as you don't disrespect me, I'll answer to both of them."
